Robinson handed eight-match ban, five of which are suspended for two years; Robinson also fined £3,200; Robinson: "Whilst I want to move on, I do want to use my experience to help others."
Saturday 3 July 2021 13:07, UK
England and Sussex bowler Ollie Robinson is free to continue his career after being deemed to have served his suspension following an investigation into historical racist and sexist tweets.
The Cricket Discipline Commission announced he has been handed an eight-match ban, five of which are suspended for two years, for "a number of offensive tweets" between 2012 and 2014. He has also been fined £3,200.
Robinson was suspended from the England team for the second Test against New Zealand and also missed two Vitality Blast matches for Sussex, so is now free to continue his career.
The 27-year-old had admitted breaching two ECB directives in relation to a number of offensive tweets posted when he was aged between 18 and 20.
The tweets came to light on June 2, the opening day of Robinson's first Test match for England.
Robinson withdrew himself from selection for Sussex following the suspension imposed by the England team for the second Test against New Zealand.
He has now begun his comeback - returning to the Sussex Second XI on June 15 and subsequently appearing against Gloucestershire and Surrey in the Vitality Blast.
England head coach Chris Silverwood, who also has responsibility for selection matters, will now have a decision to make about when or if to restore Robinson to the Test arena.
According to a statement, the Cricket Discipline Commission panel considered significant mitigation, including the time that had elapsed since the tweets were posted, and a number of personal references to show how Robinson is a different person now than when the tweets were sent.
A statement added: "The Panel also considered that there was a real opportunity for Robinson, by speaking of his experiences, to have a valuable and positive impact upon others both inside and outside the cricketing community.
"With his willing agreement, it therefore also made a strong recommendation that Robinson 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 two years.
"This includes undertaking any training himself which the PCA considers appropriate for these purposes."
Robinson 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."
ECB chief executive Tom Harrison added: "Ollie has acknowledged that, whilst published a long time ago when he was a young man, these historic tweets were unacceptable.
"He has engaged fully in the disciplinary process, admitted the charges, has received his sanction from the CDC and will participate in training and use his experiences to help others.
"Given he has served the suspension handed down by the CDC, he will now be available for selection for England again. We stand against discrimination of all forms, and will continue working to ensure cricket is a welcoming and inclusive sport for all."
