Pakistan Diplomat: Cricket Trio 'Set Up'
4:55pm UK, Thursday September 02, 2010
Graham Fitzgerald, Sky News Online
The three Pakistan cricketers at the centre of spot-betting allegations were "set up", according to the country's top diplomat in London.
High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan was speaking after Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif pulled out of the rest of the team's England tour.
The decision was revealed after a meeting in London with Pakistan officials at which all three apparently maintained their innocence and vowed to clear their names.
Speaking immediately after the talks, Mr Hasan said the players were withdrawing from the tour because of the "mental torture" of the scandal.
"The three players have said that they are extremely disturbed by what has happened in the past week, especially in regard of their alleged involvement in the crime," he told reporters.
"They mentioned that they are entirely innocent in the whole episode and shall defend their innocence as such.
"They maintain that on account of the mental torture which has deeply affected them, they are not in the right frame of mind to play the remaining matches."
Asked if he believed the trio were innocent, Mr Hasan replied: "Yes, I believe in their innocence."
Later, when pressed by Sky News' sports correspondent Ian Dovaston to explain why, he suggested the video evidence against the men may not be genuine. "Were the videos timed, were they dated... do you have the answers to these questions?" he asked.
Dovaston said: "Are you saying these players have been set up?"
Mr Hasan replied: "Yes, I would say that."
The Sunday paper, which broke the story, immediately dismissed the claim, saying: "The News of the World refuses to respond to such ludicrous allegations. Watch this space."
It had already been announced Butt, Amir and Asif would miss Pakistan's match against Somerset, a warm-up for the Twenty20 matches against England starting on Sunday.
The trio were questioned at the Pakistan High Commission over a claim Mazhar Majeed, a 35-year-old agent for several Pakistan players, took £150,000 to arrange deliberate no-balls.
The News of the World said Mr Majeed arranged for the no-balls to be bowled at precise points in last week's Fourth Test against England.
The information would be of enormous value to the spot-betting industry, where money is wagered on specific incidents in matches.
After the story came out, Mr Majeed, who also owns Croydon Athletic Football Club, was arrested by Scotland Yard detectives and later released on police bail.
The three players were questioned by police at the weekend at their London hotel.
The England and Wales Cricket Board is understood to have lobbied for the players to be stood down, by whatever means, from the forthcoming limited-overs matches.
England's players meanwhile are reportedly reluctant to line up against a Pakistan team containing the men, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association said.
"The England players understand it is important the games go ahead and they will be professional but they would or will find it really difficult to play against the guys directly implicated," Angus Porter told the Daily Telegraph.
Haroon Lorgat, of the International Cricket Council (ICC), said he hopes there will be "some sort of a conclusion" to its own investigation by the weekend.
He said "prompt and decisive action" would be taken against anyone who sought to harm the game's integrity and they could be thrown out of the sport.
However, he said "a couple of individuals that might have got caught up in corrupt practices" should not bring the entire game to a standstill.
The claims are the latest in a string of match-fixing allegations to dog the Pakistan team since the 1990s.
Three people have also been arrested by customs officials in connection with betting allegations against Pakistani players.
Two men and a woman, all from London, were questioned on Monday as part of an investigation into money laundering before being released on bail, HM Revenue and Customs said.
Accused Pakistan Cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir And Mohammad Asif Set Up Claims Diplomat | UK News | Sky News