Criminalisation of corruption in sports faces further delay

The laws that aim to criminalise corruption in sports is likely to face further delays after no developments were made following the submission of a draft by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the bill submitted by the member of the national assembly Iqbal Mohammad Ali in the parliament.

The member of the national assembly stated that other major issues restrained the members from debating the merits of the bill despite being added to the agenda twice. Hopefully, it will be a part of the schedule soon.

According to details, the PCB has raised the slogan of zero-tolerance with regards to corruption yet fixing cases have not been completely stopped.

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A big reason for rampant fixing is that a player undergoes a suspension period and then returns to the side without any other repercussions while the bookies are not held accountable for their actions entirely.

The absence of a criminal act restrains authorities from taking action against these troublesome figures. In the month of July, there were frequent talks about developing new laws in this regard after an initial draft was presented to the Prime Minister and Chief Patron of the PCB Imran Khan. A 77-page draft titled “The Legislation on Prevention of Corruption in Sports” was created based on the anti-corruption laws that are in effect in Sri Lanka.

The draft tried to create legislation that resulted in a fine of Rs. 10 crore, a jail sentence of 10 years or a combination of both for players, individuals who guided the operation, umpires, match referees, curators or support staff that had been found guilty of corruption. It further tried to force organisations to discuss matters pertaining to corrupt practices while employing specific staff members for the purpose and holding training workshops.

The matter was supposed to be presented in the parliament; however, the issue remains on the backburner.