"The Cricket Regulator alleges that there was a systematic use of racist and/or discriminatory language and/or conduct in Essex, during the period 2001 to 2010, which Essex failed to address," said a statement issued on Monday.

The English county cricket team faces a possible points deduction and a hefty fine after being accused of alleged ‘systemic’ racist language and conduct over a nine-year period.

The charge may be based on the case involving former Yorkshire bowler Azeem Rafiq, which caused major repercussions across English football. The prosecution, brought by independent body Cricket Regulator. "An independent panel of the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) will hear the case in due course." A period of investigation and consultation into the situation is now open before judging the case if necessary.

Essex said it had co-operated fully with the regulator and would ‘willingly engage’ with the CDC, which will hear the case. Unlike Yorkshire, which was widely criticised for its handling of the Rafiq case, Essex appointed a senior independent barrister, Katharine Newton KC, in 2021 to investigate allegations of racist language and conduct made by Jahid Ahmed, Zoheb Sharif and Maurice Chambers. 

Newton's hiring came after former Essex and England cricketer John Stephenson took over as chief executive of the club. There was a change in strategy. There was an initial publication last December which concluded that references to players' ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds were “fully normalised and tolerated behaviour” within the Essex culture from the mid-1990s until around 2013, under the mistaken belief that they were acceptable “banter”. The fines came in succession from various quarters.

Essex announced in February that it had sanctioned individuals for Newton's work. The case went further and in July last year, Yorkshire were fined £400,000 (469,396 euros) - with £300,000 (351,993 euros) suspended for two years - and docked 48 Championship points and four T20 Blast points. The sanction was imposed for its handling of Rafiq's discrimination allegations and for failing to address the systematic use of racist and discriminatory language between 2004 and 2021.

Two years ago, Essex was fined £50,000 (€58,674) after pleading guilty to an allegation that former chairman John Faragher used a racist epithet during a board meeting in February 2017. Faragher has repeatedly denied the allegation.

Essex is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the national cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Essex. Founded in 1876, the club held minor county status until 1894, when it was promoted to first-class status pending its entry into the County Championship in 1895. Since then, the team has played in all of England's top-level domestic cricket competitions.