UK PM Boris Johnson weighs in on ECB suspension of fast bowler Ollie Robinson

England fast bowler Ollie Robinson was suspended from international cricket by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Sunday. Considered discriminatory by nature, the Ollie Robinson tweets from the year 2012-2013 were the reason for the suspension of the fast bowler. Netizens all over the world reacted strongly to the Ollie Robinson controversy and now the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given his reaction to the suspension.

Culture Secretary of the UK, Oliver Dowden, took to Twitter on Monday to give his reaction to the Ollie Robinson controversy while addressing the tweets made by the fast bowler as offensive and wrong. However, Dowden also pointed out that the tweets made by Robinson were a decade old when he was a teenager. He further wrote that the ECB had gone over the top by suspending Robinson since the fast bowler had rightly apologised. He also appealed to the ECB to think again about the suspension.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacts to Ollie Robinson controversy

Later, Prime Minister Boris Johnson came in support of Oliver Dowden while addressing the suspension of Ollie Robinson by the ECB. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister considered the tweet made by Oliver Dowden while saying that the comments were indeed made more than a decade ago. The spokesperson agreed that Robinson was a teenager back then and he had duly apologised. On the other hand, the ECB hasn't commented on the remarks made by Oliver Dowden.

What did Ollie Robinson do?

For all the fans wondering what did Ollie Robinson do, Ollie Robinson was a teenager when he wrote some tweets during the period of 2012-13 which were considered as discriminatory. The old tweets made by Robinson started resurfacing on the internet after the end of the first day of the England vs New Zealand Test series. Soon after the tweets resurfaced, the England fast bowler faced heavy criticism on social media for his past remarks.

ECB suspends Ollie Robinson from all international cricket

Considering the situation, the ECB announced that the England and Sussex bowler had been suspended from all international cricket pending the outcome of a disciplinary investigation following past tweets he posted in 2012 and 2013. Post his suspension, Robinson won’t be available for the second Test of the ENG vs NZ Test series starting on June 10 at the Edgbaston. Ollie Robinson made his Test debut during the first match of the ENG vs NZ Test series at the Lord’s Cricket Ground. Robinson took a total of 7 wickets and played a knock of 42 runs during the first Test match against New Zealand.

Image Source: AP/ECB Twitter