Spot Fixing Controversy Discussion

[DexteR]

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.

[LoViNg IrFaN]

emotions ko side pe rakh kar socha jaye to bht acha hi hogya..!!

[Killer]

i agree. aainda fixing karne walo ko bhi sabaq milega...

[Sadaf Gondal]

begunnah hai becharay

[LoViNg IrFaN]

neend main ho kya?
sab cheezen clear ho chuki hain ab ye koi gaon ka case nhi tha k begunahon ko saza dedi... unhon ne kya tha ye sb

[Killer]

Iffi bhai wo convince nahi hogi..reason to ap jante hi ho

[LoViNg IrFaN]

[DexteR]

confess ker chukay hain phor kya reh gaya? Pakistani nation bohot biased hai yaar.

[Sadaf Gondal]

kub confess kiya hai
koi source se batao

[DexteR]

agar aap proceedings ko follow kerti tou they said k they have confessed on 2 occasions that they delebrately bowled no balls.
The same was being telecasted the whole day on GEO NEWS

[DexteR]

September 2010

Butt and Asif coaxed me into spot-fixing, confesses Amir


The Pakistan match-fixing saga took a turn for the worst on Monday with sources telling CNN-IBN that tainted Test captain Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif forced pace bowler Mohammad Amir into spot-fixing.

Amir has reportedly revealed to the PCB that he was compelled by Butt to bowl deliberate no-balls as revealed by the British tabloid, News of the World in its sting operation during Pakistan's recently concluded tour of England.

Amir said he is a victim of senior power lobby in the team.

The revelation may force the investigating agency, Scotland Yard, to summon Amir once again to help in the investigation. The tainted trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Amir have already been questioned by police once in London, along with a fourth suspect Wahab Riaz.

Meanwhile, Quite a few former Test captains, and even Pakistan's former President, Pervez Musharraf, have urged the ICC to show leniency towards Aamir, all of 18. But chief selector, Mohsin Khan said that he didn't agree with the viewpoint that Aamir should be shown leniency because of his age.

"I don't buy this argument because if you can do something wrong at 18, you can keep on doing it later as well.

If these three players are found guilty they should be punished, including Aamir," Mohsin said.

The chief selector insisted that no cricketer was indispensable and there should be no compromise on discipline and commitment towards your team and country.

"Aamir must be punished if he is guilty. I just hope that that these three are eventually cleared because they have already damaged the reputaion of Pakistan cricket and the country," Mohsin said.



27 September 2010
Pakistan manager Yawar quits after Aamer's confession
: Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed has stepped down as manager of the Pakistan cricket team after teenage pace sensation Mohammad Aamir confessed that he never wanted to be part of spot fixing but was forced into it by suspended skipper Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif.

The Pakistan Cricket Board says in a statement that Saeed "has requested ... to be relieved of his duties" and the PCB chairman has agreed to his request.

Saeed took over as manager after Pakistan's disastrous tour of Australia earlier this year.

Sources in the PCB said that Aamir had gone to PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and claimed he was innocent and a victim of the "seniors power lobby" in the team."

Another source revealed that Aamir, regarded as one of Pakistan cricket's most promising young talent, had told manager Yawar Saeed about the pressure being exerted on him by Butt.

Yawar had also been accused in the spot-fixing scandal. Yawar's resignation comes after tension built up between England and Pakistan in the recent past over the match fixing allegations which has marred the series.



Amir confesses of being involved in spot-fixing
Lahore: In a startling confession made by ‘tainted’ Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir, the 19-year old gave out a statement to the Pakistan team management that he was ‘lured’ into the spot-fixing scandal by former skipper Salman Butt.

Amir also confessed that he never wanted to be a part of the fixing-scandal that rocked Pakistan’s Test tour of England, and that he was forced into the scam by Butt, who is also under the fixing scanner.

Ealier, last month, a sting operation by a British tabloid revealed skipper Salman Butt, pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were involved in spot-fixing during their England tour, and thus, were provisionally suspended by the ICC early this month after being accused of accepting bribes from match-fixers.

The Pakistan team management, however, have continued to deny the charges till date.

But Amir’s revelations have given a different turn to the entire situation.

According to sources, some of Pakistan’s senior players saw Amir meeting with the team’s ODI captain Shahid Afridi, who later took the teary-eyed youngster to team manager Yawar Saeed, and the trio discussed the issue for some time at the team hotel, The News reported.

“Amir told the team management that he wasn’t aware of the gravity of the situation and also claimed that he just followed Butt’s instructions,” revealed a well-placed source.

He added that the 19-year-old bowler told Afridi and Yawar that he did not even know Mazhar Majeed, and was introduced to him by Salman.

“Amir told Afridi as well as the team manager that he was completely unaware of what was going on. He asked them to help him get out of the mess,” claimed the source.

Amir, regarded among the world’s best emerging fast bowlers, has received a lot of sympathy from various quarters, after he was suspended by the ICC following allegations that he and Asif had bowled deliberate no-balls during the fourth Test against England at Lord’s on the orders of match-fixers.

Former greats like England’s Michael Atherton, West Indies’ fast bowler Michael Holding, Australia’s Geoff Lawson, Pakistan’s Ramiz Raja and many others have urged the authorities to show leniency towards the talented young cricketer.

“Whilst I accept, if guilty, there can be no way back for Salman Butt, the captain, or Mohammad Asif, a cricketer who has enjoyed more lives than a cat, I hope the authorities can find a way to give Amir a second chance. He is a victim in this episode,” wrote Atherton, in one of his articles earlier this month.

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