Spot Fixing Controversy Discussion

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Crown Prosecution Service (Scotland Yard) Charge Spot Fixing Trio

The three Pakistan players at the centre of the spot-fixing allegations that rocked the Lord's Test against England last August have been charged by the UK Crown Prosecution Service with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, and conspiracy to cheat.

Salman Butt, the former Test captain, and seamers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have been accused of conspiring in the bowling of deliberate no-balls on last year's tour of England - claims they all deny.

Mazhar Majeed, the players' agent, has also been charged, with a first hearing scheduled for City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on March 17. The CPS confirmed that extradition orders would be sought if the three players fail to appear in court.

"We have authorised charges of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and also conspiracy to cheat against Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, Salman Butt and Mazhar Majeed," Simon Clements, Head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said.

"We have decided that Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, Salman Butt and their agent, Mazhar Majeed, should be charged with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and also conspiracy to cheat. These charges relate to allegations that Mr Majeed accepted money from a third party to arrange for the players to bowl 'no balls' on 26 and 27 August 2010, during Pakistan's Fourth Test at Lord's Cricket Ground in London."

The CPS confirmed its findings in an announcement shortly after 11 a.m. GMT on Friday, and the trio could be banned for life when an International Cricket Council (ICC) tribunal announces the conclusions of its own investigation in Doha on Saturday. A CPS spokesperson said there was no connection between the two timings.

"Summonses for the same court date [March 17] have been issued for the three players and they have been asked to return to this country voluntarily, as they agreed to do in September last year. Their extradition will be sought should they fail to return."

In August 2010, Britain's News of the World tabloid conducted a newspaper 'sting operation' which it said proved the Pakistan trio's willingness were involved in the deliberate bowling of no-balls during the Lord's Test against England.

This, the paper said, was evidence of a spot-betting scam where money can be gambled on specific incidents in a match without the need to 'fix' the result.

All the Pakistan trio were interviewed by police. So too was Majeed, whom the newspaper alleged accepted £50,000 to set up the deal. Majeed was arrested, and a third fast bowler, Wahab Riaz, was also interviewed under caution.

While the ICC, which heard evidence from Butt, Asif and Amir during a hearing in Doha last month, has to consider whether its rules were broken and what, if any, punishment should follow if they were, the CPS must decide whether the players have a case to answer under English law.

Butt, Asif and Amir are all currently provisionally suspended by the ICC.

[Sadaf Gondal]

ban ho gay

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Th minimum punishment according to ICC Rules is 5 years. Otherwise Amir could have escaped the 5 year punishment. Mere khayal sey it is a blessing in disguise for Pakistan. Abb baki fixers ko sharam aa jaye bas

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Amir to appeal against ICC sanctions

Mohammad Amir will appeal to the Court of Arbitration in Sport against the five-year ban imposed on him by an independent tribunal, his lawyer has said. Amir was handed the punishment under article 2.1.1 of the ICC's anti-corruption code after the tribunal found him guilty of bowling two deliberate no-balls in the Lord's Test against England last year.

The sanction was the minimum prescribed under the code and Amir's lawyer Shahid Karim said the tribunal, had its hands not been tied by the code, could have gone below five years. It's a point echoed by Yasin Patel, Salman Butt's lawyer, and could be a crucial part of any appeal.

[Sadaf Gondal]

koi faida nahi
ab in teno ka career katham

[sheem]

Akhir ko fixer sabit bo hi gaye!!!
Hmmm bhot zada nahi saza de di icc ne
2 ka career tu gya amir asakta hai wapis dekho kia karte hain pcb wale
Board chairman ki b icc se bnti nahi haina tu b masle hote hain

[sheem]

Th minimum punishment according to ICC Rules is 5 years. Otherwise Amir could have escaped the 5 year punishment. Mere khayal sey it is a blessing in disguise for Pakistan. Abb baki fixers ko sharam aa jaye bas

Sharam kisiko kabhi nahi atti

[DexteR]

5 years is the minimum punishment possible. in teeno ki saza 5 saal hai hai. Agar mei ICC ki jaga hota tou life ban kerta. Coz career tou khatam ho hi gaya hai... 5 saal baad bhi kon select keray ga fixers ko? Uss time we would have far better cricketers than these three (inshaAllah)

[Sadaf Gondal]

Trio banned on solid evidence: Lorgat
DOHA: The International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat on Sunday said three Pakistan players -- Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer -- were banned on solid proof of corruption.

"We are satisfied at the decision of tribunal, which was taken on solid evidence and we hope with this decision the image of the game will improve," Lorgat told a press conference in Doha.

Lorgat, who was accompanied by the head of the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, Ronnie Flanagan, was speaking a day after Butt, Aamer and Asif were handed lengthy bans for spot-fixing.

Butt was banned for 10 years, with five years suspended, while Asif and Aamer were handed bans of seven years with two suspended and five years respectively.

The charges relate to alleged incidents during the Test against England at Lords last year, when The News of the World newspaper claimed the players were willing to deliberately bowl no-balls.

The newspaper alleged the three had colluded in a spot-fixing betting scam organised by British-based agent Mazhar Majeed.

In a separate development on Friday, British prosecutors charged the three players as well as Majeed with corruption offences and summoned them to appear in a London court on March 17.

The trio have repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

Lorgat rejected the suggestion that the punishments were lenient. "I don't believe the sentences are lenient by any stretch of the imagination," said Lorgat. "I think they are balanced with an expert and experienced jury dealing with the case."

The three-man tribunal was headed by Michael Beloff QC and also contained Albie Sachs of South Africa and Sharad Rao of Kenya.

"In legal terms you have to be proportionate when you are giving punishment and we must distinguish between match-fixing and spot-fixing, and the jury was independent and they decided on proportionate punishments," said Lorgat.

Butt and Aamer have expressed disappointment at the bans, with Butt hoping to get the ban reduced once the ICC code of conduct -- which carries a mimimum five-year punishment -- is amended.

[Sadaf Gondal]

ICC tribunal’s verdict is disappointing: Salman Butt

LAHORE: Former captain Salman Butt said he did not agree with the verdict of the ICC tribunal announced on Saturday.

In a brief talk with media on arriving back here at the Allama Iqabal Airport today, he said that he was disappointed with the ICC decision and the spot-fixing law is needed to be amended.

Salman Butt said that the judge himself said that no law has so far been made on spot fixing and this is needed to be amended.

Butt said that if this law is amended then his punishment may be reduced.

The former captain said that he would plan his future strategy after the getting the detailed verdict.

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Reactions over the Verdict

"I feel sad for all three of these kids, two just over 20 and one just 18. I feel for their families because they are key players. This is a low for Pakistan cricket. Not only for cricketers in Pakistan, but also for the players of the world, this should be a lesson, and I sincerely hope that the ICC has set an example with this verdict and this will serve as a clean-up, not only in Pakistan cricket, but in world cricket."
Wasim Akram


"All three players were the future of Pakistan cricket, so it's a very upsetting day. All three had promising careers but it's sad that they fell into a trap and couldn't recover. They could have earned more through playing international cricket. I think this should serve as a jolt for the PCB who should have curbed this before it happened."
Iqbal Qasim


"To gain an honest system, and have unquestionable integrity, you have to lose something and players come and go - this will be a momentary loss for Pakistan cricket."

Rashid Latif is confident that the verdict will be to the benefit of Pakistan cricket in the long run.


"The ICC had decided to give punishments to the players because there was too much pressure on them to curb fixing. It's an important day for world cricket and very sad for Pakistan. Amir and Asif are a huge loss."
Sarfraz Nawaz


"In my book no player is indispensable and cannot be replaced. Nothing is greater then the honour and name of the country. I was expecting these bans but it came as a surprise that their was no leniency shown to Amir."
Zaheer Abbas


"The PCB has no jurisdiction to challenge the bans as this is a matter between the ICC and the players."
PCB chairman Ijaz Butt says the players are on their own if they want to appeal the verdict.


"Honestly speaking, to me, anyone who tries to play around with the sacred nature of this sport he deserves longer bans, especially Salman Butt."

Former PCB chief Arif Abbasi supports the tribunal's verdict.


"Amir can still make a comeback because he has age on his side, but it is good for him to learn his lesson at this stage."

Former ICC president Ehsan Mani believes Amir can serve his ban and return to the highest level.

"The important things with any punishment for those sorts of things is that it sends a very strong message to people that might be tempted to do it in the future... that if you do it then your career is going to be substantially reduced if not completely destroyed."
England captain Andrew Strauss