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Saturday, June 29, 2013
Butt admits to spot-fixing; seeks apologyLAHORE: Former Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt has for the first time publicly admitted to and apologised for spot-fixing, two years after he was found guilty of the offence.
Butt, along with fast bowlers Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Aamer, was banned from the sport by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2011 after being found guilty of deliberately contriving no-balls in return for money during the Lord’s Test against England the previous year. The trio and their agent Mazhar Majeed were also jailed by an English court in 2011. The players were released last year. “I apologise to the nation and all the fans who have been hurt by the spot-fixing case,” Butt told a press conference in Lahore in his first public apology for the offence.
Butt received a 10-year ban, with five years suspended, for his role in the scam. Asif was barred for seven years, with two suspended, while Aamer got five years. In April, Butt and Asif lost their appeals to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the ICC urged the players to accept their guilt and start rehabilitation. Aamer had not appealed after pleading guilty before the UK court in 2011. “I admit the ICC tribunal decision and warn the future players to avoid the pitfalls of corruption because this is bad for the country and for the fans,” Butt, 28, said. He and Aamer have agreed to undergo rehabilitation through the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Butt’s public apology is seen as a step towards shortening the remaining period of suspension. afp
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk