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Issued on: 06/07/2021 – 11:56
London (AFP)
England’s governing body has gone “over the top” by suspending paceman Ollie Robinson for historic racist and sexist tweets, Culture and Sports Secretary Oliver Dowden said on Monday.
He urged the England and Wales Cricket Council (ECB) to “rethink” the sanction imposed on the 27-year-old.
Robinson – who impressed with the ball and bat in his first test against New Zealand, which ended in a draw on Sunday – has been suspended from all international cricket pending the outcome of an investigation at the suite of tweets he posted in 2012 and 2013.
“Ollie Robinson’s tweets were offensive and bogus,” Dowden said. “They are also about ten years old and are written by a teenager.
“The teenager is now a man and has rightly apologized. The ECB has crossed the line in suspending him and should think again.”
The paceman led England’s offensive with 4-75 in the opening innings of the first test at Lord’s and followed with 3-26 in the second innings while achieving a useful 42 with the stick.
Robinson, in a statement released Wednesday after the game, said he was “embarrassed” and “ashamed” by the messages.
“I want it to be clear that I am not a racist and that I am not a sexist,” he added.
AFP 2021
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