Police questioning Pakistan trio over corruption
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/8953417.stmPakistan bowler Mohammad Amir has been questioned under caution by police in London over allegations of corruption.
Mohammad Asif is to be questioned next over alleged deliberate no-balls in the fourth Test against England at Lord's, with Test captain Salman Butt last.
The trio are provisionally suspended by the International Cricket Council for "alleged irregular behaviour".
ICC anti-corruption boss Sir Ronnie Flanagan said the players have "an arguable case to answer".
The players were charged with various offences by the ICC following the match which England won by an innings and 225 runs to seal a 3-1 series triumph.
"They [Butt, Asif and Amir] have a really arguable case to answer in our disciplinary arena but that is not the same as coming, in any sense, to a finding of guilt on their behalf," added Flanagan.
"Priority must be given to the criminal investigation."
Flanagan added that he did not see this case as a sign that cricket is rife with corruption.
"I do not see this as the tip of an iceberg but I think it is something from which we must learn," he stated.
Butt, Asif and Amir have been charged under "Article 2 of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code for Players and Player Support Personnel", and in accordance with the provisions of that code, have been barred from playing until the case has been concluded.
They have 14 days to appeal, although Flanagan conceded the complexity of the case, which he does not expect to be concluded "for weeks", could lead to the deadline being extended.
The ICC has yet to speak to the players after agreeing they would wait until given permission by the Metropolitan Police.
However, the High Commissioner for Pakistan, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, has condemned the game's governing body for charging and suspending the players without an investigation.
Hasan, who has repeatedly pleaded the players' innocence, told the BBC that the ICC's actions showed it was "playing to the public gallery".
"The ICC has done the wrong thing because when there is a live police inquiry this takes precedence," he added.
"The ICC made a mistake. It gave assurances nothing would be done until Scotland Yard had completed its investigation.
"The ICC has done this without conducting an investigation.
"To take action now is of course unhelpful, premature and unnecessary considering the players had already voluntarily withdrawn from playing, which was announced earlier in the morning [on Thursday] in the presence of the entire British media."
Batsman Asad Shafiq and fast bowler Mohammad Irfan have been called up by Pakistan as cover for the suspended players.
The duo and are currently on tour with the Pakistan A team in Sri Lanka and are expected to arrive in England next week.
The team's management will decide at a later stage if another replacement is needed.
Asif and Amir are alleged to have bowled three no-balls between them at pre-determined times to facilitate betting coups after a "middle-man" was reported to have accepted £150,000 from an undercover reporter from the News of the World, who published the story on Sunday.
"We will not tolerate corruption in cricket - simple as that," said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat.
"We must be decisive with such matters and if proven, these offences carry serious penalties up to a life ban.
"The ICC will do everything possible to keep such conduct out and we will stop at nothing to protect the sport's integrity.
"While we believe the problem is not widespread, we must always be vigilant.
"It is important, however, that we do not pre-judge the guilt of these three players. That is for the independent tribunal alone to decide."
Butt, Asif and Amir have been officially notified of the offences they are alleged to have committed.
Any player ultimately found to be guilty of committing an offence under the code would be subject to the sanctions described in the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code for Players and Player Support Personnel.
That could mean upholding the player's indefinite ban with the possibility, at the discretion of an independent tribunal, of additional fines.
Details of the date of the tribunal hearing are still to be finalised.
The BBC's sports editor David Bond said the action taken by the ICC was "decisive and unexpected".
He added: "There is still a police investigation going on and those players will go back to Scotland Yard to be re-interviewed by them [on Friday]. We could eventually get criminal charges.
"The ICC clearly understands that cricket's credibility is at stake with this whole affair and they had to move swiftly to save the sport's reputation."
West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels recently completed a two-year ban imposed by the ICC after passing on team information to a bookmaker during a one-day series in India in January 2007, although the 29-year-old denies any wrongdoing.
Earlier on Thursday, High Commissioner Hasan had claimed that the News of the World video allegedly exposing the scandal may have been made after the incident.
But the BBC learnt that the Metropolitan Police, who are investigating the alleged case and have been working in tandem with the ICC, believe that the video evidence so crucial to the case is authentic.
