Return the evidence: ICC asks the Lawyers of the Banned Players
Things seem to be getting more and more complicated in the match fixing fiasco involving three Pakistani players (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Salman-c88163 Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif). The recent problematic situation occurred when the International Cricket
Council asked the lawyers of the tainted players to return the evidence that was provided to them during the hearing of the appeal against the ban, in Dubai.
The recent action by the International Cricket Council comes in the wake of reports that some of the evidence was being leaked to media in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755. The International Cricket Council was clearly displeased at the news and decided
to stop it before more information finds its way to the press.
The evidence was broadcasted by leading private news channels of the country, showing text messages exchanged between the bookie http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mazhar-c75448 Majeed and Salman Butt. The ICC does not want any information concerning the case to be made
public before the final judgment, regarding the fate of the players.
The requests for returning the evidence have only been made to the lawyers of Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt because Mohammad Asif withdrew his appeal and thus, did not appear before the tribunal in Dubai.
The International Cricket Council has expressed its discontent with the behaviour of the players’ lawyers. This is because after their appeals were rejected in the provisional hearing, some very harsh comments were made by the
lawyers against the International Cricket Council in the press, accusing the governing body of having double standards and having no faith in the ICC to conduct a transparent hearing of the accused players.
The situation turned bitter when Salman Butt’s lawyer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Aftab-Gul-c42202 refused to represent Butt because he believes that the players will not be given a fair chance to prove their innocence and the judgement by the International Cricket
Council will be biased without a doubt.
Such a statement, from a lawyer, undermined the credibility of the International Cricket Council, putting the bosses of the governing body in an embarrassing position.
These unprofessional statements by the lawyers of the suspended players have been heavily criticised by many experts, who believe that such statements can influence the outcome of the hearing. This will make the final judgement
even more controversial.
There are rumours that an informal agreement was made between the lawyers and the ICC’s tribunal not to speak to the press about the case, which has now been violated by the lawyers. However, one of the lawyers has denied that
no agreement was ever made with ICC’s tribunal.
The current situation seems to be heading towards a bitter end as the International Cricket Council seems unhappy with the lawyers and the lawyers have shown no faith in the transparency of the hearing, which is yet to begin.
The lack of trust between both the parties has made the hearing controversial even before it has begun. The players should have enough evidence to clear their names; otherwise, this trial might be the last coffin in their already
stagnant cricketing career. With so much controversy surrounding this spot-fixing debacle, one can only imagine what is going to be next in the coming days.
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