Gisborne cricketer who made death threats to umpire banned for life

After having threatened an umpire with physical violence and death, a club cricketer has been banned from the sport for life. The Poverty Bay Cricket Association handed down the ban to Timoti Weir at the end of a match in Gisborne on December 4. The player was found to have committed a Level 4 breach of the Code of Conduct regulations.

As the allegations of the matter were not disputed there was no judiciary hearing for the same. The panel took the decision based on the evidence that was presented to them wherein they decided on the maximum penalty for the player and also deducted eight competition points from his club. The PBCA also noted that Weir was previously also found breaching the Code of Conduct regulations twice.

Chair of PBCA speaks on the ban imposed on Timoti Weir 

Isaac Hughes, the chair of the Poverty Bay Cricket Association opened up on the entire matter. He stated that there is no place for such behavior in cricket.

“The severity of the penalty reflects the gravity of the offending. There is no place for this type of behavior in the game of cricket,” Association chair Isaac Hughes said as quoted by stuff.

Owing to the seriousness of the allegation it was heard by an independent panel. The panel investigated well into the matter wherein they spoke to the witnesses before announcing a ban on the player. The New Zealand Cricket manager of public affairs Richard Boock also spoke on the matter. He said that NZC was not in the position to make any comment on the same and that he can’t say how many bans had been issued in the past.

Back in the month of September a Dunedin cricketer was banned from playing the game for 3-½ years. He was reported to have assaulted two opponents for which he had to face the ban. The Otago Cricket Association had decided to put a ban on William John Campbell. The association took this decision whilst stating that it was one of the most severe in New Zealand cricket history.

The 39-year-old cricketer was keeping wickets for Mad Magpies on January 25 when he pushed a player of the opposition team and then also punched an umpire (who was a player from the other team) in the head.