‘It was really dumb’: Moeen Ali urges ex-England captain to be 'smarter and step up' against racism

England spinner Moeen Ali feels former skipper Michael Vaughan should be the voice promoting cultural diversity rather than engaging in “silly” tweets. The spinner, who came out of retirement and made a return to the Test setup, was speaking in a yet to be released documentary ‘Is Cricket Racist?’, where he shed light on Vaughan's old tweets that formed a part of the case against him in the Yorkshire racism scandal involving Azeem Rafiq.

Vaughan had supported the views of English journalist Piers Morgan in 2017, who in a column mentioned Muslims to help in identifying the extremist elements from their community.

“It was very silly. Dumb really. We need people like him to step up for us. As Muslims, or any other faith really. And just be a bit smarter. I think he has also realised that times are changing and he has to change,” said Moeen sharing his thoughts on the incident.

Vaughan apologised for his views during the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) hearings, he, however, was not found guilty of using any discriminatory language against ex-teammate Rafiq.

Moeen also emphasised on lesser representation by players from ethnic communities, highlighting the biasedness in selection on the basis of colour.

"There's players out there who are doing better than anyone else, but people won't sign them for some reason," said the spinner. "The South Asian player has to be almost outstanding most of the time, especially as a trialist whereas sometimes a white player doesn't have to be outstanding, and he is getting signed," he added.

Vaughan found himself in an unwanted situation earlier this year as he was accused of racism by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Vaughan and another six former Yorkshire players, including the club, were charged for racism by the cricket governing body after allegations by Rafiq.