Independent commission charges Gold Coast Cricket player ahead of the city’s grand final weekend

A senior Gold Coast cricket player has been slapped with a huge suspension after racially vilifying a teenager from a rival club. FULL DETAILS

A senior Gold Coast cricket player has been slapped with a huge suspension that includes the entirety of the next Twenty20 season after racially vilifying a teenager from a rival club.

On the eve of Gold Coast cricket’s mammoth grand final weekend the governing body has been forced to come down hard on a senior player who will now miss out on featuring in the Kookaburra Cup first-grade grand final between Runaway Bay and Surfers Paradise at Sam Loxton Oval, set to be played across Saturday and Sunday.

The Bulletin has chosen not to name the player and the victim.

Along with being banned from all Twenty20 games for 2022-23, the offending player will also be suspended for eight weeks of the regular season.

The player allegedly made racist comments about a junior Surfers Paradise player who has also played in some first and second grade games this season.

He was charged with a Level 3 Code of Behavior offence relating to “using language or gestures that offend, insult, humiliate, intimidate, threaten, disparage or vilify another person on the basis of that person’s race, religion, colour, descent, sexuality or national ethnic origin.”

Cricket Gold Coast president Ryan Kettle said: “We do not condone racism in any form in our competition and in general.

“We feel the punishment handed to the player fits the offence. We run a competition where we want players to feel safe and racial vilification will not be accepted.

“We feel for the player affected and want to make sure this stuff never happens again.”

The suspension followed an investigation conducted by two commissioners in recent days after allegations of the incident emerged.