KARACHI: Pakistan on Tuesday charged and suspended giant fast bowler Mohammad Irfan over allegations of spot-fixing during a recent Twenty20 league, in a case that has so far ensnared three other current or former national stars.
The widening scandal threatens to take some of the sheen off the recently completed Pakistan Super League (PSL), which was hailed as a step toward restoring international cricket in the terror-hit country after the final in Lahore passed without incident.
A guilty verdict for the players would prove disastrous for Pakistan cricket, which was last rocked by a match-fixing scandal in 2010 that deprived it of three top players including paceman Mohammad Amir, who has since made a comeback.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in furtherance to its investigation issued a Notice of Charge and provisionally suspended Irfan under the PCB Anti-Corruption Code,” the body said in a statement.
It added: “Irfan has been charged with two violations of the anti-corruption code and now has 14 days to respond to the Notice of Charge,” without giving further details.
“He has also been provisionally suspended with immediate effect from participating in all forms of cricket.”
Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif, fellow members of the Islamabad United team that took part in the tournament, were also provisionally suspended and charged last month over meeting a man suspected of being linked to an international betting syndicate.
Former Pakistan opener Nasir Jamshed was also provisionally suspended on charges of being a “go between” in the spot-fixing incident. Jamshed and another unnamed person were arrested in Britain last month but were bailed until April.
The PCB, which has formed a three-member tribunal under retired judge Asghar Haider to probe the allegations, said the investigation would continue.
Irfan, 34, appeared before the anti-corruption unit of the PCB on Monday and confessed to being approached by a bookmaker about fixing matches in the past six months.
He admitted he failed to report the incidents because of the death of his father in September followed by his mother’s passing in January.
Irfan made headlines for his extraordinary height – seven-feet-one- inch or 216 centimeters — when he made his international debut in 2010 and stands as the tallest-ever player to feature in world cricket.
He has so far played four Tests and 20 Twenty20 internationals, but has achieved most success in his 60 one-day internationals where he has taken 83 wickets at an average of 30.71.
His stature makes him a dangerous bowler as each ball is released from a height rarely experienced by batsmen.
Born a farmer’s son in the small village of Gaggu Mandi, he said that in his younger days he was mocked by classmates and strangers because of his height.
Unable to make a breakthrough in the sport, he once made ends meet by working in a pipe factory, earning just 300 rupees ($3) a week, before being spotted by former first-class cricketer Nadeem Iqbal in a club match, and went on to make his first-class debut in 2009.
Pakistan suspends Mohammad Irfan in spot-fixing case
Pakistan suspends Mohammad Irfan in spot-fixing case
US drops bid to preserve FIFA bribery convictions
- Prosecutors told the Supreme Court on Tuesday they wanted to end their fight
- The case was one of several to emerge from a sweeping 2015 corruption probe by DOJ
NEW YORK: The US government has moved to drop its case against a former Fox broadcasting executive involved in the FIFA corruption scandal that plunged the world’s footballing body into crisis.
Prosecutors told the Supreme Court on Tuesday they wanted to end their fight to preserve the convictions of Hernan Lopez and Argentine sports marketing firm Full Play.
Both were found guilty in March 2023 of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies related to bribes to secure lucrative television rights to international football officials. The convictions were overturned on appeal months later, before being reinstated this July.
The case was one of several to emerge from a sweeping 2015 corruption probe by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), which ultimately led to the downfall of then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
In a filing to the Supreme Court, which Lopez had asked to review his conviction, prosecutors said that dismissal of the case is “in the interests of justice,” without giving further details.
They asked the case be returned to a lower court for its formal dismissal.
“I’m grateful the truth prevailed, and I’m also confident more of that truth will come out,” Lopez, a US and Argentine citizen, wrote on X late Tuesday.
While there was no indication of Donald Trump’s involvement, the US president has issued a string of pardons including for corruption related offenses.
In February, he ordered the DOJ to pause enforcement of a long-established law that prohibits American companies from bribing officials of foreign governments to gain business.
Lopez was facing up to 40 years in prison and millions of dollars in penalties after his conviction for money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy.
During the trial, a US court heard that the main beneficiaries of the kickback scheme were six of the most powerful men in South American football.
They included former CONMEBOL president Nicolas Leoz, who died in 2019, former Argentine football executive Julio Grondona, who died in 2014, and former Brazilian football chief Ricardo Teixeira.
The United States will host the World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico next year.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has cozied up with Trump ahead of the sporting event, this month awarding him the governing body’s inaugural “peace prize.”
