Pakistan trio jailed for spot-fixing
Source: Agencies |
November 4, 2011, Friday
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PAKISTAN cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were jailed yesterday for their roles in a spot-fixing scandal which the judge said had damaged the integrity of the game in the eyes of the world.
Former captain Butt was sentenced to 30 months, while Asif was given one year and fellow pace bowler Amir six months as the sporting world was given a strong message that corruption would be punished by much more than fines and suspensions.
The trio were part of a gambling-inspired plot to bowl no-balls at pre-arranged times during a test match against England at London's Lord's Cricket Ground in August 2010.
"The image and integrity of what was once a game but is now a business is damaged in the eyes of all, including the many youngsters who regarded you as heroes and would have given their eye teeth to play at the levels and with the skills that you had," judge Jeremy Cooke told the courtroom.
"Now, whenever people look back on a surprising event in a game or a surprising result, or whenever in the future there are surprising events or results, followers of the game who have paid good money to watch it ... will be left to wonder whether there has been fixing and whether what they have been watching is a genuine contest between bat and ball."
Sports agent Mazhar Majeed, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to making corrupt payments at a pre-trial hearing, was jailed for two years and eight months at London's Southwark Crown Court.
The cricketers, already banned from playing by the International Cricket Council for a minimum of five years, showed no reaction as the sentences were handed out amid strong words from the judge who said they had tainted a game known for its fairness. "'It's not cricket' was an adage," Cooke said.
"It is the insidious effect of your actions on professional cricket and the followers of it that make the offences so serious."
The case has prompted calls back home in Pakistan for the game to be cleaned up.
"It is a shameful day for Pakistan cricket today," former captain Imran Khan told Geo News.
While Butt's father Zulfiqar said his son, who faces a long wait to meet the baby his wife gave birth to earlier this week, had been made a scapegoat, others said the players had deserved their punishments. "These convictions will hopefully serve as a deterrent to others in the future because cricket should not be allowed to be corrupted by anyone," former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said.
Butt, Asif and Majeed are expected to begin their sentences at Wandsworth prison in south London, while Amir is due to be sent to a young offenders' institute in west London. Lawyers for Butt and Amir have said they will be appealing the sentences.
Former captain Butt was sentenced to 30 months, while Asif was given one year and fellow pace bowler Amir six months as the sporting world was given a strong message that corruption would be punished by much more than fines and suspensions.
The trio were part of a gambling-inspired plot to bowl no-balls at pre-arranged times during a test match against England at London's Lord's Cricket Ground in August 2010.
"The image and integrity of what was once a game but is now a business is damaged in the eyes of all, including the many youngsters who regarded you as heroes and would have given their eye teeth to play at the levels and with the skills that you had," judge Jeremy Cooke told the courtroom.
"Now, whenever people look back on a surprising event in a game or a surprising result, or whenever in the future there are surprising events or results, followers of the game who have paid good money to watch it ... will be left to wonder whether there has been fixing and whether what they have been watching is a genuine contest between bat and ball."
Sports agent Mazhar Majeed, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to making corrupt payments at a pre-trial hearing, was jailed for two years and eight months at London's Southwark Crown Court.
The cricketers, already banned from playing by the International Cricket Council for a minimum of five years, showed no reaction as the sentences were handed out amid strong words from the judge who said they had tainted a game known for its fairness. "'It's not cricket' was an adage," Cooke said.
"It is the insidious effect of your actions on professional cricket and the followers of it that make the offences so serious."
The case has prompted calls back home in Pakistan for the game to be cleaned up.
"It is a shameful day for Pakistan cricket today," former captain Imran Khan told Geo News.
While Butt's father Zulfiqar said his son, who faces a long wait to meet the baby his wife gave birth to earlier this week, had been made a scapegoat, others said the players had deserved their punishments. "These convictions will hopefully serve as a deterrent to others in the future because cricket should not be allowed to be corrupted by anyone," former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said.
Butt, Asif and Majeed are expected to begin their sentences at Wandsworth prison in south London, while Amir is due to be sent to a young offenders' institute in west London. Lawyers for Butt and Amir have said they will be appealing the sentences.
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