DUBAI: Hong Kong’s Irfan Ahmed and Nadeem Ahmed have been banned from cricket for life for match-fixing and their team mate Haseeb Amjad has been banned for five years, the International Cricket Council (ICC) ruled on Monday.
The trio were provisionally suspended by the world governing body in October after being charged for “fixing or contriving” aspects of Hong Kong’s World Cup qualifiers against Scotland and Canada in 2014.
During its hearing, the ICC tribunal heard evidence that all three players fixed or contrived to fix matches, failed, for reward, to perform and failed to disclose approaches to fix during a number of international fixtures across a two-year period.
While Irfan Ahmed was found guilty of nine offences under the ICC’s anti-corruption code, his brother Nadeem and Amjad were found guilty of three infractions each.
Alex Marshall, ICC general manager – Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) – said: “This has been a long and complex investigation which has uncovered systematic attempts to influence moments in matches by experienced international cricketers over a period of time. Their conduct was premeditated and sophisticated and each of the Ahmed brothers sought to corrupt others.
“The main offences relate to the Hong Kong matches against Scotland and Canada where the players fixed specific overs. These matches were won by Hong Kong so it did not materially affect the results of the tournament, however I cannot reiterate strongly enough to any player considering this that we treat any form of fixing – spot or match – with the upmost seriousness.
“With the fixers finding it harder than ever before to penetrate the highest levels of the game, we are increasingly seeing them turn their attention to other avenues in the sport and we will continue to work with Members to ensure players at all levels are educated about the dangers of corruption.
“The severity of the offences is reflected in the sanctions and I hope will deter other players from taking this path and demonstrate to cricket fans around the world our commitment to a corruption free sport.”
