Spot-fixing: Banned, jailed but still appealing

Asif questions ICC’s 5-year ban with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Banned and imprisoned Pakistan fast-bowler Mohammad Asif has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against his five-year ban handed out by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Asif, along with former captain Salman Butt and fast-bowler Mohammad Amir, was handed a ban by the ICC-appointed anti-corruption tribunal in February 2011 before the three were also given different prison sentences in London later that year.

Butt and Amir had filed their appeals with the CAS immediately after their bans but Asif was advised by his lawyers to wait until the conclusion of the trial in the Southwark crown court in London before making a decision.

“The appeal filed in the CAS against the ICC ban is founded upon multiple grounds that include the argument that the ICC tribunal breached its own proceedings and in other ways infringed fundamental human rights to which Asif is entitled,” said a spokesperson for the legal firm representing Asif. “In such a situation the ICC ban is not only flawed, it could also be unlawful.”

The spokesperson added said the CAS will now set a date for the hearing.

Meanwhile, according to reports, Amir, who was given a six-month sentence after pleading guilty to the offence might be released after completing half his term. Amir has spent his time at a young offenders’ institute and might be freed as early as February 3.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2012.