LONDON: The head of the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruptionunit said Friday he had been in direct contact with around 12 “corruptors”to warn them off the World Cup.
Match fixing or spot fixing, where gamblers try to influence specificincidents in a game, remains one of the biggest problems facing cricket,particularly in countries such as India, the sport’s financial powerhouse,where betting is unregulated.
An education video urging players to “recognise, reject and report” anycorrupt approaches has been shown to all 10 competing World Cup teams.
The film also contains names and imagery of potential fixers, althoughtheir identities were obscured when the tape was shown Friday during amedia briefing at the Oval — where the World Cup starts with a matchbetween England and South Africa on May 30.
“It’s around a dozen people who have had the ‘disinvite’ to the CricketWorld Cup and who we will keep away,” Alex Marshall, the head of the ICCAnti-Corruption Unit, told reporters.
“If any more pop up, we will be speaking to them as well. They are peoplewho live all over the world but the majority of the corruption we deal withhas its origins in the subcontinent, unregulated betting markets.”
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Marshall said while he could not stop anyone travelling to England, he hadbeen in direct contact with potential fixers to make it clear what wouldhappen if they tried to disrupt the tournament.
“I have either written, called or Whatsapped all the corruptors featuredthere (in the video) and the other main corruptors we know operating aroundthe world to tell them not to come anywhere near the World Cup,” explainedMarshall.
“So far they have all promised me they are not coming. But sometimes withcorruptors you find they don’t always tell the truth. So we will be veryproactive in keeping them away from the tournament.
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“We have shared their details with law enforcement and the police here inthe UK — if our guys see them anywhere around the World Cup, they will beasked to leave.
“This is a very tough event for corruptors to come near,” Marshall said,with corrupt betting rings generally targeting lower-profile events.
This will be the first World Cup at which the ICC will have a dedicatedanti-corruption officer with every team
The most high-profile action taken by Marshall in his 18 months at the ICChas involved players from Sri Lanka.
Nuwan Zoysa and Avishka Gunawardene were charged with match-fixing thismonth and in February former captain Sanath Jayasuriya was banned from thegame after admitting two breaches of the anti-corruption code.
That followed an ICC amnesty in Sri Lanka to all those who passed onrelevant information but Marshall said it was too soon to say if similarschemes would apply in other countries.
Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara, who played alongside Jayasuriya, Zoysaand Gunawardene, said strong action was needed.
“Corruption is one of the most important things we need to eradicate fromthe game in all forms,” Sangakkara said at Lord’s this week.
Sangakkara, who will become the first non-British president of MCC inOctober, added: “It is not just about spot or match-fixing, it is aboutensuring more transparency from the national boards, that the funding thatgoes to the national boards is properly accounted for.” -APP/AFP
