Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir accuse ICC of anti-Pakistan bias
Provisionally suspended http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir have accused the International Cricket Council of bias against Pakistan cricket after the decision to suspend the two was upheld
by the ICC.
This comes as a big surprise after Butt’s lawyer, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Aftab-Gul-c42202 had said that the hearing had been satisfactory and that the players had been given a fair deal.
The pair first said to reporters at the Lahore airport that they had been hard done by the ICC. However, it did not remain at that. Over the period of day, the former Pakistan skipper Butt was seen on various
television channels, accusing the ICC of a bias against them and Pakistan cricket. Butt even claimed that there was a conspiracy against Pakistan cricket.
An angry Butt said, "They listened to us but it felt as if their decision had already been made from before. It was not based on a single piece of evidence. There was no evidence that established that we
had some agreement with [illegal bookmaker] http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mazhar-c75448 Majeed. After a 12-hour hearing the only so-called evidence they had was the same [News of the World] article and the same video everyone has seen."
Butt, who had led the Pakistani side in the four Tests against England when the scandal broke out, even lashed out at a Pakistani news channel. When asked to explain what the
News of the World video meant, Butt said, “I am not here to convince you, did he say on video that I had done something? Of course I am denying all this. I feel like I am talking to the English media.”
Amir echoed similar concerns. "Before leaving for Dubai we felt the case will be in our favour, but when he gave the decision it looked as if he had written the decision before," he told reporters at the
airport. "We went for the truth but this could be a conspiracy against Pakistan, to tarnish Pakistan's reputation."
The Pakistan cricket board has already said that the appeal against the provisional suspension was the players’ individual matter. To add to the players’ misery, the Pakistan board’s legal advisor Taffazul
Rizvi was also critical of their reaction. He said, "It was highly inappropriate of the players to cast doubts on the impartiality of the tribunal after the short order had been announced."
The duo will now appear before an independent anti-corruption tribunal that will look into whether the charges are true or not. No date for the hearing has been set.
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