In a startling revelation, over a year after the spot-fixing scandal broke, Amir earlier confessed to bowling deliberate no-balls during a Test match in England. The man accused of setting up the deal, Mazher Majeed, also pleaded guilty.
Amir was given a “Newton Hearing” in which Justice Cooke heard his side of the story and no official jury was present.
Amir earlier submitted his written confession in Southwark Crown Court, London, through his British lawyer Gareth Pierce’s firm Birnberg Peirce & Partners. An official confirmed that the statement maintained that Amir was coerced into his actions, rather than acting out of greed.
Amir’s mother said on Wednesday her teenage son's actions were understandable because he was still a child. "I've had this in my hand for a year and a half," said Naseem Akhtar, mother of 19-year-old Mohammad Amir, pointing to prayer beads in her hand.
Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were found guilty on Tuesday by a unanimous verdict on the charge of “conspiracy to cheat”. A 10-2 majority decision was returned on the charge of “conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments”..
COMMENTS (65)
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and now on BruteForce's humble request , iv recomendd all hiz comments too! :p man dez ppl need to get a life!
on umairs sincere requested iv recomended all his comments!!! :p
@BruteForce: As for IPL, if it is so corrupt it is better for Pakistanis to stay away from it
Don't detract from the discussion. It's about corruption in cricket. You first deny knowing anything about IPL corruption and then when cornered, say that its better for Pakistan to stay away from it?
Its time you use your own advice of letting go of arrogance, for yourself.
Request to Jurry give a to AMER and accept his appology.
We feel London give good deceision we respact the all Judges, but I request the Jurrey members to sympthatically review the judgement of AMER's, and give him chance to redirect their road map.
@umair mahmood:
"I think Justice Cook with his milder sentencing for Mohammed Amir.."
He got off with a milder sentence because he gave evidence and plead guilty, not because of his age. That is why he had a separate trial and no jury, since he had already plead guilty.
As for IPL, if it is so corrupt it is better for Pakistanis to stay away from it. I wonder why people like Shahid Afridi continue to issue statements asking, even begging, India to let him play in IPL.
Think about it. If the trio had played IPL and had got big bucks, there was a good chance, they wouldn't have done this shameful act and ruined their own Country's reputation. Only if Pakistan had not snubbed India and its Cricket in 2009 that India was too unsafe for its Cricketers, History of Pakistani Cricket might have got a better ending to 3 super talents. Sadly, one mistake out of arrogance and look what has happened.
@mehran:
A combined West-India scheme to defame Pakistan? Really? Care to explain exactly how reached this profound conclusion, Einstein?
@BruteForce: . I think Justice Cook with his milder sentencing for Mohammed Amir itself proves that he deserved sympathy for his circumstances. Plus he being sent to a Juvenile Correction Facility/ Young Offenders Institute, means that it does matter what age you are. He was never going to send Butt or Asif there for the same offence, was he? .
I believe precedence has power, but I dont believe that its huge. Harsha Bhogle, again with an amazing article in cricinfo today, expressed that same view. Lung cancer is a deterrent but it doesn't seem to stop people, otherwise perfectly discerning, from smoking. The Madoffs do get caught and jailed for a lifetime but every day there is another Ponzi scheme being plotted and another sucker drawn in. . As for what IPL Corruption... ?? I think the cost you are paying of trolling around in Pakistani Newspapers is that you forget to keep an eye on your own media. Please google it and do some research.
@umair mahmood:
Age and background have nothing to do with the implementation of the law.
Crime is a crime, you admit now, what has age got to do with it? And, background? What background? That he came from a middle class or lower middle class background should one excuse him? So, should a judge let go of a person who is poor and is a crook?
Keep your ego asides and think of the consequences. The power of precedence is huge. You set a bad precedence then it will keep coming to haunt you.
"But at the same time it couldn't stop the corruption in IPL?"
What corruption in IPL?
we should think of our people, cricketers or others. This person has decieved pakistani nation and soled it for Dollars.
British court is biased. They should have been tried in Pakistan.
Everybody knows this is a great conspiracy against Pakistan. Objective is to defame Pakistan. Those guys are innocent.
They have accepted their crime and they are not kids as they are all aqil and baligh, they have defamed our country in particluar and muslims as general. Any one who committs crime should be punished for a lesson to the predecesors.
He was 17/18 NOT 9!
What about Indian cricketers like Tendulkar,Dravid,Ganguly etc. They score centuries and the team still lose the match. No investgation.Why is ICC quiet? Because BCCI is rich.
if a criminal like baalmiki can become a saint....why cant an 18 year old criminal become arole model after feeling guilty of his acts. guys....even GOD forgives first sin...who are we to deny it to someone. problem is that due to our biased attitude we have lost all compassion towards each other....and irony is that all thru our comments all of us are trying to pose ourselves as torch bearers of ethics and truth . does any one among us could honestly swear that we not cheated others even once in our lives? and dont mention that crap about bringing shame to nation....cheating is just cheating
@faraz:
The argument was whether Amir should be given leniency on the basis of a minor. And for your information, minors are sentenced to juvenile jails or correction facilities.
If the law determines minor on the basis of age 18 and consider them adults responsible for their actions, then why is the legal drinking age set higher than that age in the countries i listed above.
Thank God I had good guys around me to guide me to not do what you said I would do in your comments, but imagine someone who had no one to guide him? Would'nt you have even an iota of sympathy or leniency for him?
Please don't read off comments and run with it. Take time to ponder. Please also read other comments of mine above that might help you understand what I am saying.
Those who caught red handed are guilty, in reality every cricketer is involved in spot fixing. All the best cricket lovers, but no one is clean in the game of cricket.
@BruteForce:
My point was to prove that age does play a very important role in determining a person's intentions and actions and should be a factor to consider in his sentencing tomorrow.
I believe he should be punished, but not as severely as Ex-Captain Butt and Senior player Asif, mainly because of his age and background. Bear in mind im not talking about cricket bans but about criminal sentencing.
Kudos to you and BCCI for kicking out corruption years ago by making examples of Jadeja and Azhar. But at the same time it could'nt stop the corruption in IPL? Maybe we need a more proactive approach such as having strict principal based Ethics Code that may punish, but actually prevent wrongdoing in the first place. One could have been used for Mohammed Amir, where in his case the bad guys got to him before the good guys could which is why i am vouching for a less harsher sentencing.
@AK:
Can you please point out where I was justifying his actions?
I think you have missed the point of the whole news article and my comments. Let me try to tell you in very simple terms so that you can understand it better:
It's about whether Amir should be shown leniency towards the wrong that he did because of his age, his background and his confession.
@Nawaz Ansari: keep on defending the cheats, continue living in denial, keep coming up with conspiracy theories, Pakistan's future sure looks bright (sarcasm).
@umair mahmood: we can also vote at 18 (before) and also, Islam says to marry before or by the time you turn 18!!! so what's your argument now??? will you kill/rape somebody and just say you were 18 and didn't know what you were doing??
There seems to be a problem of upbringing of Amir in a proper way.
It was the duty of the parents to advise Amir, right from his childhood as what is right and what is wrong. If the parents cannot tell about the dividing line then it means that the parents also did not know the difference between the right and the wrong.
Why the father and mother did not inquire when the money was flowing in into Amir’s bank account? At that time they kept quite. Now the mother is holding prayers beads in her hand and praying that the judge should not sent him to jail.
The parents are supposed to build the character of a child when he was in mother’s lap.
I have no sympathy for Amir who has given a bad name to the country.
Look what the international media is talking about the character of Pakistan’s Cricket Players.
Shame on us.
@Ali Khan: yes, but what about killing/raping/stealing from someone when we were 18??? would you give the same excuse for that too?? not knowing what to do in life is a different thing but committing crime is a different thing altogether.
@naved: at least be thankful we are getting rid of corrupt cricketers, don't care about others, if otherf people living on your street, steal/kill for a living, will that give you a right to steal/kill for a living, too??? everything is not a conspiracy against Pakistan, look at the bright side, our side's performance has improved after dropping of them and the Kamrans.
Freedom for another night for all four of them as they will be sentenced tomorrow!!!!
How sad.
I saw him bowling once on a video and I was awe-struck by his pace and swing (include reverse swing). I think he is faster than Wasim to whom he is often compared.
What a tragic waste of raw and youthful talent.
it's pakistan where culprits plea and Sc accepts and acquitte them over trifling amount of money.
@umair mahmood:
justify all the cheats and you will make your country proud. Atleast learn to distinguish between wrong and right !!!
@umair mahmood:
A law is a law. I am talking legally at that time. If we can vote at 18 and decide a Country's future or marry at 18 then I think its a good enough age to say he is an adult.
Even if he was 17 and commit such shameful acts I'd have asked for a complete ban. Only if Pakistan had punished its greats in 1999 when the match-fixing scandal broke out and made an example out of them like BCCI did with Azhar and Jadeja, this wouldn't have happened.
I am from India but feel sad for Amir...He was bowling no balls, because he was forced to do so by Salman Butt...And later, when lawyers asked him to confess he did...in this fate, where is the guy himself?? This is really sad and unjust.
I am a die-hard fan of PAK cricket and Amir. Whatever happened was an unfortunate event and hope Amir will be back in the PAK team. The english can never produce such talented fast bowlers even in the next 100 years and thus should give this young talent a chance to entertain and enrich world cricket which has been viciously corrupted by things like IPL and underworld bookies right under the noses of ICC (indian cricket council).
@BruteForce:
If at 18 years of age a person is considered an adult responsible for his/her actions then why is the legal age for drinking above 18?
India : 25 years USA : 21 years Canada: 19 years. . @blacksheep
http://tribune.com.pk/story/264609/taseer-murder-case-qadri-sentenced-to-death/
get over it.
its time tribune come with a Not all all recommend/dislike option
Fellow players like Kamran Akmal and Wahab Riaz will be wiping their foreheads and thinking, "Thank God! That was close!" When will PCB and Pakistani courts look into those mysterious matches where Pakistani team managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory . . . the Sydney test against the Aussies was a disgrace. Over forty years I've seen Pak team pull some unbelievable stunts, now it's quite clear what was going on in the dressing rooms and the hotel lobbies. A few more players should be going inside along with Butt, Amir and Asif, because it was mostly a team effort. I remember Kamran always shouting "Shabash, Shabash" from behind the stumps, even when it was a no ball! It all kind of makes sense now.
@mehran: http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/reportmysterious-indian-offered-mazhar-majeed-1-2m-to-lose-oval-test-court-hears1597748
What is happening was to defame Pakistan as the above news confirm. But our own losers are enough to defame Pakistan.
@Nawaz Ansari: i couldnt agree more with you more espcially in case of Amir
How many of us knew what we were doing with life when we were 18?? He is an uneducated young man from a very very poor background..... it was too easy for his seniors to lure the youngster into wrong doing...... his apology should have been accepted and he deserved a lighter punishment, definitely not a jail term! He's already banned from cricket...and his career is over...why take away his life?
Aamir's so called "confession" was taken under pressure from Scotland Yard and some agents of MI5. This is a conspiracy to extinguish the career of a budding young cricketer who was about make Pakistan a superpower in Cricket. INSHALLAH this conspiracy will be unearthed soon.
They got what they deserve, lets hope these punishment act as a detterent for the current and coming players.
Comments crying foul are pouring in as if there's no tomorrow. Just because his apologies are not accepted doesn't mean that his age, his stature as a newbee in team and his confession well in advance wouldn't be considered during final judgement.
Amir confessed too late , He should have confessed when he was caught. I still blame the PCB and Ijaz Butt for messing up the whole situation. All three should have been sent home and tried in Pakistan as soon as the news of spot fixing came out. Only in Pakistan somebody bites the ball and he becomes the captain of the national team in all formats. I wont be surprised if one of these three players come out and say that PCB is also involved in gambling...
There are many renowned players who fixed the matches at international level but they survived only because of their white origin, the matter was deliberately closed by their respective boards.If one look at the cases of these three pakistani players, who are charged for spot fixing and none of the charges have been proved through solid evidences, it seems that ICC and british jury have decided to put the blame and all frustration of corruption, cricket has ever faced so far on these players. Its a clear descrimnation and if these pakistani players are being punsihed then previous cases of renowned players specially Aussie players should be reopened and investigated
I hope they go light on him. He had such a bright career ahead of him.
"Amir’s mother said on Wednesday her teenage son’s actions were understandable because he was still a child" - cant believe shes still defending him for his act ?!!....
He should have accepted the offer to give in on Asif & Salman, but Aamir thought this is something not serious hence paying the price.
He kept the contact going with the agent even after trial began, so sad to see this young fellow losing his career and life, why so greedy?
oh poor innocent 18-year misguided youth without education and from poor section of society...he must have made a small mistake under the influence of senior...
Our Prophet has said (PBUH) that if someone apologizes sincerely, then he is equal to an angel. Since the apology of an innocent teen is rejected, I feel this is clearly a conspiracy to prevent Pakistan from becoming a number one test nation.
Also, what a great match winner he is ! He could have become the highest wicket taker in tests, more than 800 wickets considering that he was only 17 then. If his apology is not accepted, PCB should start boycotting all ICC events to show our protest.
Amir should be punished for his crime. He should have thought about the consequences before delivering the no-balls. He is only apologetic because he was caught and is being tried in a court of law.
Now this is un-fair.
I really feel bad for this guy, he was still a kid when Salman Butt got him into this mess. I think everyone would really hate to see Amir Behind bars but that could be the case very soon. It's a pitty how things turned out at the end. His confession might not get him a bargaining deal afterall !!!
Amir pleaded guilty ....who's talking of a conspiracy against Pakistan now???? Amir's confession is a conspiracy itself ....Amir is a traitor sponsored by anti-Pakistani agencies!!!! I am waiting for somebody to say this now.
Bechara....
ahhh,, this time, its completely revealed that this is a west-Indian propaganda to defame pakistan