PAKISTAN: CRICKET - Fans suspect anti-Pakistan conspiracy in cricket match fixing scandal

Record ID: 178174

  • Title: PAKISTAN: CRICKET - Fans suspect anti-Pakistan conspiracy in cricket match fixing scandal
  • Date: 5th September 2010
  • Summary: SIDIQUE GOHAR, SALESMAN IN CLOTHES SHOP, HANGING GARMENTS GOHAR IN SHOP (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) SIDIQUE GOHAR, CLOTHES SALESMAN, SAYING: "Under a conspiracy our team is being implicated and are being accused of match fixing. But the English team should not forget that they will have to come and play in Pakistan some time or the other. The welcome they are giving to the Pakistani team on their soil now can be reciprocated when they come here, they should remember that." VARIOUS OF AQUARIUM STALL WOMEN SHOPPING (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) GHULAM GHAUS, CRICKET FAN, SAYING: "Nothing has been proved yet. Up until now it looks like a fiction story and there may be no truth in it. Until there is proof, he should not be taken off of the list. Amir's name was on the list of upcoming stars; removing his name from the list is unfair." KARACHI, PAKISTAN (SEPTEMBER 4, 2010) (REUTERS) TRAFFIC ON ROAD PEOPLE IN MARKET (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) MOHAMMAD ARIF, CRICKET FAN, SAYING: "This is a conspiracy against the Pakistani team because Amir and Asif were performing so well and Pakistan was winning the test matches because of them. Unless anything has been proved against them, they should not be suspended or punished in any way." VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC ON ROAD
  • Embargoed: 20th September 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA84MSLI6SDD5R9MNE3OOOZQJE3
  • Story Text: The outrage in Pakistani cricketing circles is growing as the drama around the match-fixing allegation against their cricket heroes unfolds.
    Pakistan captain Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were questioned by the London Metropolitan police on Friday (September 4) following their indefinite suspension from all cricket.
    The trio face possible life bans after the International Cricket Council (ICC) charged them under its anti-corruption code on Thursday after an investigation into alleged spot-fixing.
    Despite the fact that ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has said there was no truth in claims that there was a conspiracy against Pakistan cricket, the conspiracy theory is gaining ground in the cricket-mad nation.
    Some furious fans warned that English cricketers would have to face the same "welcome" that they had accorded to the Pakistani team on their soil.
    "Under a conspiracy our team is being implicated and are being accused of match fixing. But the English team should not forget that they will have to come and play in Pakistan some time or the other. The welcome they are giving to the Pakistani team on their soil now can be reciprocated when they come here, they should remember that," warned Sidique Gohar, a salesman in Islamabad.
    Many people wish that 18-year-old seamer Mohammad Amir was not caught up in the allegations.
    In a statement released late on Friday, the Pakistan High Commissioner in London Wajid Shamsul Hasan said he was shocked to hear that the ICC had taken Amir's name off its player of the year list.
    Pakistani cricket fans shared the feeling.
    "Nothing has been proved yet. Up until now it looks like a fiction story and there may be no truth in it. Until there is proof, he should not be taken off of the list. Amir's name was on the list of upcoming stars; removing his name from the list is unfair," said Ghulam Ghaus, a cricket fan in Islamabad.
    According to the British Sunday tabloid The News of the World, the three had been involved in pre-arranged no-balls which were bowled by Amir and Asif in the fourth test against England at Lord's.
    "This is a conspiracy against the Pakistani team because Amir and Asif were performing so well and Pakistan was winning the test matches because of them. Unless anything has been proved against them, they should not be suspended or punished in any way," said Mohammad Arif, a cricket enthusiast in Karachi.
    In a statement issued on behalf of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the players, lawyer Elizabeth Robertson said the three had voluntarily attended Kilburn police station to answer questions about allegations in the newspaper.
    The statement said the players were not arrested and were free to leave at any time and they have answered all of the questions that were put to them and have been released without charge or conditions.
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