YORKSHIRE captain Andrew Gale has been charged with a racism offence by the ECB, it has been reported.

It has been long since known that Gale had a run-in with Lancashire batsman Ashwell Prince during the third day of the Roses encounter at Emirates Old Trafford earlier this month.

The ECB then prevented the left-handed batsman from lifting the County Championship trophy at Trent Bridge on Friday before releasing a statement saying the incident was still under investigation.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper last night reported that a charge of using racist and abusive language has been levelled at the 30-year-old and that a hearing is expected next week.

Gale was annoyed at Prince, a black South African, for time wasting in his attempt to minimise the number of overs Lancashire would face before close.

It is claimed that the ECB case will centre on Gale’s alleged use of the term ‘Kolpak’, in a heated exchange with Prince – and whether it can be construed as racist.

Kolpak players are non English-born players allowed to play as domestic qualified in county cricket under EU law.

Gale was initially reported for a level two offence by the umpires, although that is likely to be increased to a level three or four charge, although the board have yet to officially confirm this latest development.

The whole episode has cast a shadow over the title celebrations of the last week.

Gale was banned from the final two matches of the season having picked up nine penalty points on the ECB’s driver license like disciplinary code.

Only yesterday Yorkshire announced that Gale, with the trophy present, would be available for questions and photos between 11.30am and 12.30pm in the East Stand Long Room at Headingley on each day of the Somerset match, starting next Tuesday.

However, that plan may alter if a disciplinary hearing is scheduled for next week.