KARACHI:
Banned former Test captain Salman Butt has been told clearly by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to confess his direct involvement in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal, which included fast-bowlers Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Amir, or else he can see his suspension extended to 10 years, Press Trust of India (PTI) sources said.
PTI quoted a senior PCB official who said the board has been in constant contact with the ousted player and his lawyer but Salman has still not admitted his full involvement in the scandal during the fourth Test on the tour of England.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) banned Salman, Asif and Amir for spot-fixing slapping five-year bans on each of them. Salman had to face an additional five-year suspension by the ICC anti-corruption tribunal.
The PCB official said that this five-year suspended ban could be added up if Butt did not meet with the requirements of the ICC’s anti-corruption code.
Butt’s five-year active ban ends in September this year while Aamir has already been given a relaxation by the ICC and allowed to resume playing domestic cricket before his ban ends, also in September.
“When the PCB wrote a letter to Salman Butt earlier this year and when he also met with senior officials he admitted that he had violated the ICC’s anti-corruption laws and should have informed them about any approach made to him,” the senior board official told PTI.
“But he has yet to admit that he was directly involved in staging the spot-fixing incidents during the Test match. He is yet to admit he did real time spot-fixing,” the official said.
“And we have made it clear to him in writing and verbally that until he does not do this and admit his full guilt, he does not fulfill the ICC requirements and the PCB cannot plead his case for relaxation,” the official added.
“If there is no change in his stance, once his five-year ban ends in September and if he has not completed the ICC requirements of fulfilling the anti-corruption rehabilitation programme for banned players, then he can face the prospect of having his five-year suspended sentence evoked as well,” the official stated.
The story originally appeared on NDTV.
