Shannon Gabriel, the West Indies fast bowler, has been given a four-match suspension by the ICC for his use of an apparently homophobic remark directed towards England captain, Joe Root in the 3rd and final Cricket Test which ended in St Lucia yesterday.
Gabriel, who pleaded guilty to the offence, was fined 75 percent of his match fee and received three demerit points, pushing him over the threshold for a ban.
Stump mics caught an interaction on the third afternoon of the test between Gabriel and two England batsmen, Root and Joe Denly, which ended with Root saying: “Don’t use it as an insult. There’s nothing wrong with being gay.”
In a tweet, the ICC confirmed that Gabriel had been charged with a breach of Article 2.13 of the Code of Conduct: “The charge, which was laid by match umpires, will now be dealt with by Match Referee Jeff Crowe. Until the proceedings have concluded, the ICC will not comment further.”
