Legalbrief | your legal news hub Sunday 26 September 2021

Latest scandal turns up the heat on bosses

The latest cricket corruption scandal has unleashed questions that go beyond the current crisis facing the game, writes Legalbrief.

Among the tough questions being asked is whether the International Cricket Council has the will to root out the corruption that has plagued the money-spinning game for years. A report in the Financial Times says the furore matches the betting scandal that toppled Hansie Cronje as SA's cricket a decade ago. It says the weekend's claims that Pakistani players allegedly indulged in bet-rigging while playing against England in London may, if proven, be on a par with the level of brazen corruption that cost Cronje his reputation, and possibly cut short his life. Another Financial Times report says that the allegations will add to concerns that corruption remains a serious problem. The report notes that this is at a time when cricket is becoming more lucrative as tournaments such as the Indian Premier League tap into the large fan base in south Asia. The alleged scam would have hit bookmakers in south Asia, where so-called spot-betting is common and wagers can be placed on all aspects of the game, including timings and frequencies of no-balls, the report says. Full Financial Times report Further Financial Times report

The sport was thrown into turmoil after four Pakistan players - Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif, the wicketkeeper and the captain - were questioned as part of a Scotland Yard inquiry into claims they had taken orders from , a British property developer and sports agent, to corrupt a test match against England at Lord's. According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, sources said that the passports of the cricketers under investigation could be seized and that up to seven players could be questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. The rest of the squad could also be interviewed as potential witnesses. More than 80 international cricket matches will be investigated, sources said. Full report in The Daily Telegraph

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat denied that his organisation has allowed the sport to be corrupted and said players have to help in preventing more cases. A Mail & Guardian Online report quotes Lorgat as saying: 'We have identified corrupt individuals and advised players to stay away from them. We need cooperation from the players. They must listen to us and also have discipline.' Lorgat said the ICC has not allowed corruption to increase by failing to act, adding: 'We have a lot of measures in place.' Full Mail & Guardian report

Cricket's already shaky integrity has been blown of the water, writes Peter Roebuck in The Age. He says credibility has been destroyed and it's not coming back until someone with guts gets hold of the game. If a test match at Lord's can be compromised by some braggart then nothing is safe, he argues, adding that cricket's costly anti-corruption unit has been found wanting. Mostly the ICC has taken too little notice of poor governance. It's been a cosy club. Everyone has been getting rich. Full report in The Age

It should come as no surprise that a betting scandal has hit international cricket again, The Star says in an editorial. It notes that the sport has never recovered from the shenanigans of 2000 when then SA captain Hansie Cronje was exposed as being involved in a web of corruption. It says that for the past decade cricket has been blighted by suspicions of match-fixing, spread-betting and, in this latest instance involving the Pakistani team, spot-fixing. The blight of dirty money in cricket is not confined to Pakistan; it never has been and never will be until every suspicious act on an international playing field is painstakingly investigated, and all perpetrators banned for life. Full editorial in The Star (subscription needed)

Banning Pakistan from cricket indefinitely won't solve the problems, says a report in the Geelong Advertiser in which Simon Townley notes that greed is global and that the fixers will just find another target. The report says that on the basis on the evidence, this is not a one-off problem. It has been around for years and the authorities have obviously failed to grapple effectively with it. Townley says: 'How the ICC deals with this latest outbreak of fraud will be watched with interest. There is little evidence that it has the spirit to make the tough decisions.' He says real action is needed to rid the sport of the blight of corruption, not just a weak-kneed act of appeasement. Full Geelong Advertiser report

Pakistan's press called the allegations an act of shameful betrayal for a flooded, terror-hit nation that worships the game, reports The Times. 'Our cricketers should have been ambassadors for us at this time, instead they have stabbed us in the back,' the English-language daily The News said in an editorial. 'The evidence appears conclusive and we are exposed to the world as cheats and frauds once again,' it said, adding that the national sport faced 'a very uncertain future'. Full report in The Times

A three-man delegation representing Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency has also been sent to London. Pakistan's Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, is quoted in a report in The Guardian as saying his country would not back down from conducting an independent investigation into the charges. 'Scotland Yard is doing its own investigations, our team is there to assist them and also independently find out what has happened,' Malik said. 'The FIA delegation ... will not only assist but also carry out their own inquiries into the allegations made against our players.' Full report in The Guardian

Exemplary punishment should be given to any player found guilty of spot fixing, is the call from Pakistan's former cricket captain, . 'I think there is a need to send out a message to youngsters... that crime does not pay,' Imran is quoted in an SABC News report as saying. 'I have come to know about these allegations against our players from the media. I hope they are not true, but if any player is found guilty, he should be made an example for future generations of Pakistani cricketers.' Spot-fixing refers to a form of corruption that has plagued cricket, soccer and other sports in Europe, particularly Britain, reports The New York Times. Instead of bribing players to fix matches outright, considered too risky for the Asian betting syndicates involved, the schemes often rely on fixing details of play that - while not necessarily affecting a game's outcome - can attract millions of dollars of bets across Asia. Full SABC News report Full report in The New York Times