FORMER Yorkshire CCC player Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has accused his old club of "systematic taunting" and says he was subjected to racist abuse by supporters.

Rana's comments come after Azeem Rafiq revealed earlier this month that he was left on the brink of suicide and claimed his former employer was "institutionally racist".

Yorkshire have engaged an independent law firm to investigate Rafiq's allegations.

Rana, who played 74 ODI's for Pakistan and was at Yorkshire in 2008 and 2009, told ESPNcricinfo: "I fully support what Azeem said and this has been the case with me as well.

"I never spoke about it because, as foreigners, we were temporary and somehow I managed to accept the way it is.

"There was systematic taunting. To us as overseas players from Asia, when you are not able to perform, the home crowd which should be supporting us, instead started hooting and would taunt us with racist slurs like 'p***'.

"If you are performing then you get all the space but, in case I am not taking wickets, the attitude suddenly started to change.

"They started to give us a tough time, giving me a smaller hotel room and there used to be a clear case of discrimination."

In response, Yorkshire released a statement to ESPNcricinfo in which they described the allegations as "very concerning" and reiterated their commitment to an investigation into the issue.

"Mr Naveed's comments in relation to his and Mr Rafiq's experiences playing for Yorkshire in 2009 are very concerning and we take them very seriously," the statement reads.

"We have recently engaged an independent law firm, Squire Patton Boggs, to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter and they will report their findings in due course.

"In addition, we have also appointed a sub-committee, led by Dr Samir Pathak and supported by NACC Chairman, Mr Gulfraz Riaz, to review the findings of the investigation and provide advice on any further steps the club needs to take.

"We have committed to sharing recommendations which result from the investigation but as it is now underway are unable to comment on specific matters.

"There is no place for racism in cricket and we take these matters very seriously."

It is understood that Rafiq spoke to the investigating panel on Tuesday.

Speaking earlier this month, Rafiq, who had two stints at Headingley between 2008 and 2018, said, as a Muslim, he was made to feel like an "outsider" at the county.

"I know how close I was to committing suicide during my time at Yorkshire," he said.

"I was living my family's dream as a professional cricketer, but inside I was dying. I was dreading going to work. I was in pain every day.

"I believe the club is institutionally racist and I don't believe they are prepared to acknowledge the fact or willing to change. My only motivation now is to prevent anyone else feeling the same pain."