Shannon Gabriel suspended for 4 ODIs after breaching ICC Code of Conduct

Gabriel's accumulated demerit points reached eight within a 24-month period for which he has been slapped with a ban of 4 ODIs and a 75 per cent fine and three demerit points

In a major blow to West Indies, speedster Shannon Gabriel has been suspended for the first four matches of the upcoming 5-match ODI series against England. He was found guilty of breaching ICC Code of Conduct following his homophobic remarks during the final Test on Monday.

According to reports, Gabriel breached the article 2.13 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “personal abuse of a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire or Match Referee during an international match”, following the incident with English captain Joe Root.

As a result, his accumulated demerit points reached eight within a 24-month period for which he has been slapped with a 75 per cent fine and three demerit points as well.

What was the incident?

The incident occurred when Root and Joe Denly were batting on Day 3. There was no direct proof of what Gabriel said to the English pair but England captain Root was heard saying, "Don't use it as an insult. There's nothing wrong with being gay,” on the stump microphone.

Joe Root praised as a 'role model' by Nasser Hussain and Ian Wright for telling Shannon Gabriel 'there's nothing wrong with being gay' in homophobic sledging incident https://t.co/Wip4BUsEh8 pic.twitter.com/CGirpDaT5c

— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) February 12, 2019

Later, the West Indies admitted the offence and accepted the sanction by match referee Jeff Crowe. On-field umpires Rod Tucker and Kumar Dharmasena and third umpire Chris Gaffaney levelled the charges.

Joe Root’s stand on the episode

Root, who scored a match-winning century in the second innings refused to go into detail about the incident and he in fact, hadn’t even complained to the umpires.

“I just did what I thought was right. You have a responsibility to go about things in a certain manner on the field and it felt appropriate to act how I did. The ICC have got to handle things and I am not in a position to comment but throughout the series, it has been played in the right manner between the two sides," Root said.