Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) announces decision on Ollie Robinson

Following a hearing on Wednesday 30th June, a Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) Panel has announced its decision to suspend Ollie Robinson from playing cricket for eight matches, five of which will be suspended for two years, and fine him £3,200.

As Ollie was suspended by the ECB from the second LV= Insurance Men’s Test against New Zealand and made himself unavailable for two Sussex Sharks Vitality Blast matches, he is deemed to have served his immediate three match suspension and is therefore free to play cricket immediately. 

The sanctions relate to two charges brought against Ollie. He admitted breaching ECB Directives 3.3 and 3.4 in relation to a number of offensive tweets which were posted between 2012 and 2014, when he was aged between 18 and 20.

In coming to its decision, the Panel took into account a number of factors including the nature and content of the tweets, the breadth of their discrimination, their widespread dissemination in the media and the magnitude of the audience to whom they became available.

The Panel also considered there was significant mitigation, including the time that had elapsed since the tweets were posted, and a number of personal references which demonstrated that Robinson, who chose to address the Panel, is a very different person to the one who sent the tweets. It also took account of his remorse, admissions and cooperation as well as the huge impact which the revelation of these tweets and its consequences have had upon him and his family.

With Ollie's willing agreement, the Panel has recommended that he participates in all training programmes in both the use of social media and in respect of anti-discrimination as directed by the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) over the next 2 years. This includes undertaking any training himself which the PCA considers appropriate for these purposes. 

In response to the Panel's ruling, Ollie said, "I fully accept the CDC’s decision. As I have said previously, I am incredibly embarrassed and ashamed about the tweets I posted many years ago and apologise unreservedly for their contents.

“I am deeply sorry for the hurt I caused to anyone who read those tweets and in particular to those people to whom the messages caused offence. This has been the most difficult time in my professional career for both my family and myself.

“Whilst I want to move on, I do want to use my experience to help others in the future through working with the PCA.”