Western Stars yesterday vowed to appeal against a two-year ban handed down to batsman Treadwell Gibbons jr by Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) earlier this week for the player’s involvement in a nasty row with newly-appointed director of cricket development Arnold Manders and wife Robin at St.John’s Field last month.

While Stars skipper Justin Robinson made it perfectly clear last night that he does not condone his player’s actions, he remains adamant that the offence Gibbons is alleged to have committed did not warrant such a severe punishment.

“I feel that the maximum amount of punishment Tready (Gibbons) should’ve received was ten games. There’s absolutely no way he should’ve received two years because I’ve seen far much worse,” he argued.

“I just feel this whole thing was more personal than anything else. I feel this thing was a personal issue and not a cricket issue, but we are going to appeal.”

Gibbons, who has two previous run-ins with the Board for disciplinary offences, received the lengthy ban for showing serious dissent at an umpire’s decision, threatening to assault an umpire and using foul language or gestures that seriously offend, insult, humiliate, intimidate or vilifies another person on the basis of that person’s race, religion, colour or ethnic origin during a June 16 Premier Division clash between hosts Stars and Bermuda Under-19s at St.John’s Field.

According to Robinson, Gibbons was initially given out lbw by stand-in umpire Gerald Bean (Under-19 manager) but was allowed to continue batting after Stars protested the decision.

“The first over that Bean umpired he gave Tready out lbw and so we protested. We told Clevie (Under-19 assistant coach Clevie Wade who also umpired in the match) that we are not going to play if decisions like these are going to be made. And everybody on the field agreed that he (Gibbons) was not out and he was allowed to play on.”

Under-19 assistant coach Manders eventually replaced Bean as umpire. But when Gibbons was given out lbw a second time in the match — this time by Manders — Robinson said the left-hander began to lash out verbally at the former Stars skipper and his wife from the sidelines.

“Arnold ended up giving Tready out lbw and after he had taken off his pads he came walking over by the scoreboard and cursed off Arnold and his wife,” he added.

“I can’t specifically remember what he said, but it wasn’t nice. Arnold heard what Tready said and proceeded to come over. He said to Tready ‘do you want me to come over and deal with you’. He was saying things as though he wanted to fight Tready. He wasn’t being mature about matters at the time neither.

“We senior players calmed Tready down and he stopped. But during the water break Arnold came over and started saying different things to Tready. He was stooping to Tready’s level as far as threatening to fight him. Arnold then said he was going to write Tready up.”

Last night Manders admitted exchanging words with Gibbons following the batsman’s dismissal, but denied ever provoking the player or deliberately cheating. “I gave him out and then he went right off. He (Gibbons) was given out earlier in the game and was allowed to stay in and then when I gave him out he caused a big scene down at the club,” he recalled.

“He verbally abused me from the side. My wife was talking to somebody and he looked at her and told her to ‘shut up you white b*tch’! I then said ‘Tready, you don’t want me to have to come off the field’.

“Then about 30 minutes later during the water break I said to him ‘now do you have anything to say?’ That’s all I said to him. He was running his mouth, but that was it.

“I don’t have anything against Western Stars and everybody knows that I was brought up around the club and played for them.”

In 2003 Gibbons, who had a short playing stint with Scottish side Arbroath United two years ago, was booted off the Under-19 national squad for fighting with St.David’s pacer George O’Brien jr during a practice session at the National Sports Centre (NSC). He was also punished for an undisclosed incident that occurred while representing Bermuda at the national youth level on a summer tour of Jamaica.

Meanwhile, others handed down far lesser punishments by the Board’s disciplinary committee this week were Southampton Rangers cousins Janeiro and Kwame Tucker who each received three-match bans for committing Level Three offences.

Player-coach Janeiro Tucker had sanctions imposed upon him for serious dissent and using offensive language while Rangers skipper Kwame Tucker was banned for dissent towards the umpire after he was given out during a June 17 Premier Division contest against St.George’s at Southampton Oval.

Also summoned before the Board’s disciplinary committee on Tuesday night was promising Devonshire seamer Lamont Brangman, who received a two-match ban for also committing a Level Two offence (showing serious dissent at an umpire’s decision).