THE Herefordshire and Worcestershire Sports Awards has come under fire after it emerged not a single black or Asian athlete had been nominated - including county cricket star Moeen Ali.

City councillor Jabba Riaz said he was concerned non-white athletes had not been nominated in this year's awards.

However the partnership behind the awards said it was disappointed by his comments and the nomination process is open and embraces people from all backgrounds.

Cllr Riaz said minorities could be disheartened by the lack of diversity in the event, which takes place on Thursday, November 23.

Cllr Riaz said: "If you have a role model in a community that's done well and he's not recognised it demotivates a particular group.

"Some of the names I recognise, some of them I've Googled to find out their background and I've found that none of them are from BME (black and minority ethnic) backgrounds.

"It's just frustrating that there's some talent out there that's not been recognised and put forward."

Cllr Riaz said professional sportsmen, such as Mr Ali, and rising stars, like Worcester boxer Ameen Khan, were examples of athletes that could have been nominated.

He said: "It's worrying that none of these guys have been nominated.

"If you're talking about achievements surely he [Mr Ali] is Worcestershire's most famous son in terms of national achievement - at the moment. I would say he has been snubbed.

"I'm trying to get to the bottom of why people aren't putting these names forward. Is it that managers aren't aware of these awards? At a grass roots level people are not putting them forward.

"These people are part and parcel of daily life in Hereford and Worcester. [They] contribute to the success of clubs and communities."

The councillor said there were plenty of potential black and minority ethnic nominees in the city's cricket, rugby and basketball teams.

He added that he would raise the issue at Tuesday's Worcester City Council communities committee meeting, which Sports Partnership Herefordshire and Worcestershire is expected to attend.

Stephen Brewster, chief executive of Sports Partnership Herefordshire and Worcestershire, said: "Whilst I have a great deal of respect for Jabba I am disappointed by his comments.

"He [Mr Ali] has not been snubbed. I think that's a misunderstanding of the awards. He's a fantastic cricketer but he's done it for England this year. Daryl [Mitchell] has done it for Worcester.

"The process is entirely open and we welcome nominations from all, including clubs, community groups, coaches, instructors, leaders, parents, carers and friends.

"The sports awards is about celebrating the great achievements of our athletes, clubs, coaches and volunteers who are the backbone of sport across Herefordshire and Worcestershire regardless of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity.

"We do not request any of this information in our open categories as we feel it is irrelevant to their achievements.

"We do ask about disability and gender only in the categories where it is relevant i.e disability sports person of the year.

"We actively encourage nominations from every corner of Herefordshire and Worcestershire and work hard through printed media, social media and partners to highlight the opportunity to nominate.

"We invite Jabba to champion the 2018 sports awards and work with us explore how we can increase the reach and profile of this celebration event."

Mr Ali declined to comment.

The categories for the awards ceremony include: Disabled sportsperson of the year, aspiring talent award, female coach of the year, male coach of the year, sports school of the year, community club of the year, community project of the year, young volunteer of the year, volunteer of the year, unsung hero, BBC power of sport, sports personality of the year 2017.