Durhamfootman wrote:and does he not have previous?
He was effectively on probation after a previous charge( nothing to do with any accusations of racism as far as I know) so that's why the latest offence resulted in an automatic ban. Mike Atherton wrote about it in The Times-the umpires overheard the conversation between Gale & Prince and reported Gale for using abusive language, a level 2 offence but then the ECB intervened and upgraded the charge to a level 3 offence by interpreting his reported remarks as having a racist element.
Atherton was scathing in his criticism of the ECB, accused them of undermining the umpires by interfering and causing a situation that will drag on for ages with lawyers haggling over the details.
Since the umpires didn't feel his remarks were racist and neither did Prince, it does seem as if the whole thing could and should have been sorted out with less controversy.
That said, Gale should not have been using offensive language in the first place.