CAS to give Butt, Asif fixing verdicts within month
Salman Butt arrives for a hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne. -Photo by Reuters
LAUSANNE, Switzerland: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) expects to give verdicts within a month in two cases of Pakistan cricketers banned for spot-fixing against England.
CAS says former Pakistan captain Salman Butt is attending his appeal hearing on Friday to challenge a 10-year ban by the International Cricket Council. The ICC suspended five years of the sanction. Butt’s teammate, fast bowler Mohammad Asif, attended his appeal against a seven-year ban on Thursday. The ICC suspended two years.
Butt, Asif and a third Pakistan player, Mohammad Amir, were found guilty in an English criminal trial of arranging to bowl no-balls for betting scams during an August 2010 test match. They served from three to seven months in prison.
CAS says the same three-lawyer panel is hearing both appeals but judging them separately.
BUTT HOPEFUL
Butt on Friday said he hoped the CAS would overturn his ban imposed for spot-fixing and let him return to the game he loves.
“I am grateful to the CAS that they have allowed me this opportunity to appeal this sentence,” Butt said in a statement released after a day-long hearing at the Swiss-based court.
“Since September 2010, until now, I have not been able to play any meaningful game of cricket: to coach or to even be involved in the administration of the game,” he said.
“I love cricket: it is something that runs through me in my veins and my blood. I await the decision of the CAS. It means so much to me. I truly pray that they can change it for me by reducing the sentence,” he added.
Butt’s appearance comes a day after Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif appeared before the court, in what he described to AFP as a “quite busy” day of hearings about the infamous Lord’s Test against England in 2010.
Butt, Asif and fellow paceman Mohammad Aamer were banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2011 after being found guilty of corruption for deliberately contriving no balls to order in that match.
In November 2011, the trio were also jailed by a British court over the scandal, which was linked to an illegal betting ring.
All three were released last year after completing half of their sentences.
The case marked one of cricket’s biggest scandals in years.
Butt, now 28, was banned from the game for 10 years, with the possibility of five suspended.
He has argued though that the suspension was a career-ending punishment, and has insisted he should be given another opportunity to play for Pakistan.
Asif, now 30, was banned for seven years, with two suspended, and the then teenager Amir for five years.
Amir, now 20, decided not to pursue his appeal at the CAS, after pleading guilty to the charges in Britain.
Asif, played 23 Tests and 38 one-day internationals and was regarded as one of the best new-ball bowlers in the world.
Butt was made Test captain on the fateful tour of England, and Amir was regarded as the fastest emerging bowler in the world.
“We are certain that the Panel will consider our legal submissions and the material facts of this case carefully when reaching their verdict,” Butt’s lawyers said in a statement.
“There is only one outcome that can be positive for Salman and us — he must be allowed to play cricket now. We can then say that justice has truly been served,” they added.
i personally think that they should never be allowed to play after what they did but at the same time its a fact that everybody deserves a second chance, everybody knows that match fixing has happened before and players were involved who right now are enjoying some posts in cricket or at commentary level, the only reason is that they never get caught and theses three were, regardless theses three are the talent which the nation needs at the moment
See, we need good cricketers. So, they got caught. Big Deal ! Ask yourself, if you have been honest 100 % of the time. If not, give these guys the chance to make it right once more. Inshallah, they will make Pakistan proud.
Butt, Nation will not forgive you, even if CAS reduces your ban. You have been black spot on this beautiful cricket loving country. You misused the responsibility given to you. You need to come before the nation, cry hard, so that your cry reaches sky, repeatedly and apologize to two young talents whose future you took down with you. Then Nation may let you go, but don’t even dream of coming into national cricket team.
All three players were caught so red handed that even a childj could decide this case fairly. I wonder why would any court take more than an hour to decide such a thing. Amir was the most prudent of them to admit his mistake and promised to fix it. Butt and Asif are geting played in attorneys’ hands. I would suggest them to try to be fair / honest to themselves if they want to be treated fairly. Lawyers will make their money regardless or the result.
My prediction is tha CAS will have same ” Guilty” verdict against them. Which will be only fair.
Justice will be done when they are banned for life by PCB. They have been comprehensively proven guilty. On top of that there was not a single shred of remorse or any apology to their shocked fans.
Both Asif and Butt should remain excluded from the cricket for ruining the future of a fast emerging bowler (AMER), who would have proved an asset for Pakistan. Asif is the biggest culprit and should be banned from playing cricket for life.
JAIL this crook for life. He is a disgrace to my Nation ……..
Irrespective of the verdict or outcome of CAS, Butt and Asif should never be allowed to play again for Pakistan.
I fully agree. They should never be allowed to play. The are a disgrace and I can not believe how shameless they are. They should be in prison. That is where they belong. The brought so much shame and disrepute to the country that gave them everything they have.
That’s a great news. As we all know very well, most of the courts in the world take lot of time to dispense justice without realizing, knowing and understanding the centuries old universal saying. “justice delayed in justice denied.” Nevertheless, if CAS in Lausanne, Switzerland consisting of three lawyer panel could give their verdict in a fair, transparent and equitable manner within a month, that will go a long way in establishing an out-standing precedent for other global courts to follow. Let true justice ring, prevail and be decided in shortest possible time all over the world.
I can’t believe that these cheats having been convicted in UK courts have the guts to shame the nation with their attitudes. They should have apologised to the nation for being cheats. They never did that. How dare they take Pakistani nation to be so silly and naive not to understand what they stand for. They should try to find another profession where their past is not going to come back and bite them. Shame on you Asif, Salman and Amir.
Fully agree.
Politics will suit these cheats