England's Ollie Robinson allowed to resume playing cricket after offensive tweets emerged
3 July 2021, 10:35 | Updated: 3 July 2021, 11:14
England bowler Ollie Robinson can resume playing cricket after a number of offensive tweets he posted as a teenager emerged.
The Sussex player was given an eight match ban, five of which are suspended for two years, for the messages between 2012 and 2014, when he was aged between 18 and 20.
The Cricket Discipline Commission has, however, taken into account his suspension from the England team and two Vitality Blast matches, meaning he can play immediately.
Robinson, 27, has also been fined £3,200 and it was recommended he take part in social media and anti-discrimination training programmes over the next two years.
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The tweets, which were considered sexist and racist, emerged on June 2, the opening day of his first Test match for England.
He withdrew himself from selection for Sussex after being suspended from England's second Test against New Zealand.
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The panel considered mitigation, including the time that elapsed since the tweets were sent and personal references which show Robinson is a different person to who he was at the time, a statement said.
Robinson, 27, previously said in a statement: "On the biggest day of my career so far, I am embarrassed by the racist and sexist tweets that I posted over eight years ago, which have today become public.
"I want to make it clear that I'm not racist and I'm not sexist.
"I deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks.
"I was thoughtless and irresponsible, and regardless of my state of mind at the time, my actions were inexcusable.
"Since that period, I have matured as a person and fully regret the tweets."
