Haroon Lorgat supports Sting Operations to catch corrupt players
International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Chief Executive, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Haroon-Lorgat-c61719, has said that he is in favour of launching ICC sponsored sting operations to detect corrupt players ready to deal with bookies.
Lorgat’s statement has come in the wake of recent match-fixing scams that have erupted in the world of cricket, including the most recent one, which saw three Pakistani national players being banned from the game for a minimum of five years, after their
involvement in spot-fixing was proved in an ICC hearing, overseen by a three member tribunal in Doha http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Qatar-c2986. The players included batsman, Salman Butt, pacer Mohammad Amir, and, Mohammad Asif.
Lorgat admitted that the proposal of carrying out sting operations was suggested to ICC’s member cricket boards, but faced tough criticism and opposition.
"We would have to get the players' federations consenting to it and they of course opposed it and were not happy, they considered it a form of entrapment", he said.
Lorgat suggested that another way to restrict match-fixing was to gain full access to the bank accounts of the players, which will help in keeping an eye on the earnings of the players.
However, according to the ICC chief executive, there are issues of legality that have to be kept under consideration before gaining access to bank accounts. It is believed that gaining access to bank accounts without the consent of the players is considered
a major human rights violation, which makes it difficult for the world cricket body to implement a course of action in this direction.
Many believe that the ICC is not doing enough to root out the menace of match/spot-fixing from the game and it was only due to a sting operation by England’s leading tabloid “ The News of the World”, which disclosed the existence of a spot-fixing arrangement
with three Pakistani players.
Critics argue that it should have been ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) to detect spot-fixing instead of a local tabloid.
Clarifying ICC’s position in this regard, Lorgat said, “We are doing a review of our whole process and all of our systems right now. We have engaged an independent firm to conduct that review and I'm hopeful that some constructive recommendations will come
up that will enhance, or, improve the way we are currently tackling the issue".
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