FICA States that jail sentence send a Loud message and Clear message to all Players

FICA States that jail sentence send a Loud message and Clear message to all Players

3 November 2011

Federation of International Cricketers' Associations' (FICA) CEO Tim May today stated that the jail sentences handed down in the Southwark Crown Court ,London to three Pakistani players, sends a very loud and clear message to players across the world, that corruption in cricket will not only be dealt with by the ICC, but players will be also prosecuted in criminal courts .

"The real possibility of spending time in prison is a further compelling argument for players to distance themselves from those who seek to profit illegally from the game"

May stated that he had mixed emotions following the decision of the Southwark Court - "concern that the practice of spot fixing and other types of fixing still appear to be prevalent in our game despite the millions spent by ICC on education and the creation of the ICC's Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), sadness that 3 young cricketers will face jail time, but satisfaction that the prosecution has been able to identify corruption and deliver a loud and clear message to players of all sports, that if you are caught cheating the integrity of sport you will be prosecuted and face severe penalties".

May further stated "The ICC and its Member Boards, cricket officials, players and Player Associations all need to take responsibility of ridding this corruption from cricket. We all need to review our roles in providing proper and regular education to cricketers, umpires and administrators at all levels of the game and we need to ensure that cricket's Anti Corruption Unit functions effectively and has access to the respective tools and information that can identify those who seek to harm our game.

The ICC is currently reviewing the role and functioning of the ACSU and FICA has provided input into that process.
FICA provided a document in October 2010 to the ICC entitled "Measures to Address Corruption in Cricket", (LINK) which details a number of recommendations made by FICA to address the issue of corruption in cricket.