Butt and Asif found guilty

Naimul_Hd · #1 November 1, 2011, 06:54 AM

BREAKING NEWS: Butt guilty of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat, Asif guilty of conspiracy to cheat. Butt faces jail term of up to seven years.

Salman Butt, the former Pakistan captain, has been found guilty of two offences - conspiracy to accept corrupt payments, and conspiracy to cheat - while his team-mate, the fast bowler, Mohammad Asif, has been found guilty of conspiracy to cheat.

The decision was reached on the 20th day of the trial at Southwark Crown Court, and required 16 hours of deliberation from the 12-man jury. Verdicts were reached on three of the four charges, with a hung jury returned for the charge of Asif's acceptance of corrupt payments.

Butt faces up to seven years in prison for his role in the conspiracy that shook world cricket in August 2010, following a sting by the now-defunct newspaper News of the World.
More to follow/

http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan...ry/538829.html

Naimul_Hd · #2 November 1, 2011, 06:58 AM

Pakistan cricketers guilty of betting scam

Ex-Pakistan cricketers Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt were on trial at Southwark Crown Court
Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif have been found guilty of their part in a "spot-fixing" scam.

Former captain Butt, 27, and bowler Asif, 28, had denied conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments.

But a jury at London's Southwark Crown Court found Butt guilty of both charges and Asif guilty of conspiring to cheat.

They plotted to deliberately bowl no-balls during a Lord's Test match against England.
Bowler Mohammad Amir had already pleaded guilty to the charges.

Naimul_Hd · #3 November 1, 2011, 06:59 AM

Good to see cheat are getting punished. Hope players will be more careful now.

Roni_uk · #4 November 1, 2011, 07:00 AM

I am just sitting 5 mins away from southwark crown court - thinking of going over there to say hi & then bye!

F6_Turbo · #5 November 1, 2011, 07:05 AM

Cheats, Cheats...Not happy that Amir is being looked at leniently. I don't give a toss about his relative youth, he knew what he was doing was wrong, and did it anyways.

Absolutely no sympathy, and I'd feel the same way if some Bangladeshi were involved in spot fixing(I specify spot, and not match, because, well...we're so ****, who needs to pay us to lose)

Naimul_Hd · #6 November 1, 2011, 07:17 AM

Thankfully it happened in UK not in any sub-continent countries.

Roni_uk · #7 November 1, 2011, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naimul_Hd
Thankfully it happened in UK not in any sub-continent countries.

and it is good because...?

Naimul_Hd · #8 November 1, 2011, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roni_uk
and it is good because...?

because law and its enforcement is strict and rigid in UK than in sub-continents. Moreover, sub-continent's system itself a corrupted one. So, how can you expect to get a fair judgement from them.

roman · #9 November 1, 2011, 08:58 AM

Those spoiled players..

Whatever!

Jadukor · #10 November 1, 2011, 11:56 AM

Seven Years in Jail would be a bit too harsh in my opinion... even for cheats like these.. life ban from cricket and a year in jail should be enough...

Roni_uk · #11 November 1, 2011, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naimul_Hd
because law and its enforcement is strict and rigid in UK than in sub-continents. Moreover, sub-continent's system itself a corrupted one. So, how can you expect to get a fair judgement from them.

Oh I see - when you said 'happened' you meant the trial happened in UK rather than the incident. Yes it makes sense. If it would have happened in Pak, they would have found not guilty, for sure.

Roni_uk · #12 November 1, 2011, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jadukor
Seven Years in Jail would be a bit too harsh in my opinion... even for cheats like these.. life ban from cricket and a year in jail should be enough...

I agree, I don't think (not sure) even rapists get than many years in prison. Its a game for god sake. Life ban and a huge fine is sufficient.

Nadim · #13 November 1, 2011, 02:13 PM

How SAD!!!! Butt's wife gave birth today to a boy and on the same day Butt's gets 7 yrs jail term.

bujhee kom · #14 November 1, 2011, 02:24 PM

Hahhahaha Butt!

deshimon · #15 November 1, 2011, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nadim 98
How SAD!!!! Butt's wife gave birth today to a boy and on the same day Butt's gets 7 yrs jail term.

বেচারা বাট!!!!

Banglaguy · #16 November 1, 2011, 04:53 PM

A message to those young cricketers. It was a hard one to learn, but one they need to have.

BASSMAN · #17 November 1, 2011, 04:55 PM

Asif has always been a dodgy character and he nearly escaped with a slap on the wrists in Dubai for carrying drugs.

Its good to see justice being done but 7 years is a bit too severe. But iam not the judge.

Pakistan's name being further tarnished.

Posted via BC Mobile Edition (Blackberry)

Dilscoop · #18 November 1, 2011, 05:33 PM

oh crap! Jail sentence? Life time ban would've been good enough. Harsh, but it's hard to feel sympathy. Specially for Asif, that fool has some issues, and he never learned. They should dig and dig and dig, and find everyone from every team who has been involved in this sort of things and give them the same punishment.

And I like how Aamir played his cards.

Dilscoop · #19 November 1, 2011, 05:36 PM

I like this dude's sense of humor, "You are lying your head off to this jury aren't you Mr Butt?"

Zeeshan · #20 November 1, 2011, 06:08 PM

Gone are the days of Pakistan prodigies. For some reason don't feel like following their team now...

Rifat · #21 November 1, 2011, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeeshan
Gone are the days of Pakistan prodigies. For some reason don't feel like following their team now...

i feel the same way, Waqar, Wasim, Saqlain, Saeed Anwar, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad was one of the all time best players...the modern pakistan cricket team is just not as flamboyant as those guys!

but they are still a decent team, just recently beat the Sri Lanka!

F6_Turbo · #22 November 2, 2011, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BASSMAN
Asif has always been a dodgy character and he nearly escaped with a slap on the wrists in Dubai for carrying drugs.

Its good to see justice being done but 7 years is a bit too severe. But iam not the judge.

Pakistan's name being further tarnished.

Posted via BC Mobile Edition (Blackberry)

7 years is the maximum, he obviously won't get that. Probably 3-3.5 years at most.

6alltheway · #23 November 2, 2011, 07:01 AM

They can't get life bans as ICC has already handed out thier bans at hearing in Doha - it was about 5-7 years.

this is for jail terms which hasnt been released it.

Aftab Jafferjee - the prosecution QC is a bengali prosecutor, I was in a trial with him at the old baily as a juror 3 years ago. He is very good at getting convictions.

F6_Turbo · #24 November 2, 2011, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Cricketer Amir's fix claim rejected by sentencing judge

Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Amir's claim he was involved in fixing only at one match has been rejected by a judge.

Amir, 19, pleaded guilty to plotting to bowl no-balls in a Lord's Test and said it was a "one-off event" but the judge said text messages suggested otherwise.

Amir is being sentenced along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, who have been convicted of a betting scam.

It can now be reported that UK-based sports agent Mazhar Majeed, 36, also pleaded guilty to corruption offences.

Former captain Butt, 27, and fast bowler Asif, 28, were both found guilty on Tuesday at Southwark Crown Court of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments.

At a pre-trial hearing in September, Majeed admitted conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to make corrupt payments.

All four are facing the prospect of jail terms.

At a pre-trial hearing in September, Amir's lawyers agreed a basis of plea with prosecutors when he admitted to the same charges as Butt and Asif.

The plea noted: "The defendant's involvement was limited to the final Test match at Lord's on August 26 and 27.

"This was the defendant's first and only involvement, and was therefore an isolated and one-off event.
Salman Butt (left) and Mohammad Asif Salman Butt (left) and Mohammad Asif were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of corruption

"The defendant only became involved as a result of pressure (not amounting to physical threats) and influence to the effect that if he did not become involved, he would suffer serious professional implications for his future career."

But Mr Justice Cooke dismissed Amir's claim that he was not involved in fixing before the game at Lord's in north London.

He told the court: "I refuse to accept that basis of plea on the material I have seen.

"There are certainly texts and the like which suggest that Amir's first and only involvement was not limited to Lord's, it was not an isolated and one-off event.

"What I have in mind are the various texts relating to the Oval Test."

The BBC's sports correspondent James Pearce - who was at the court hearing - said the judge wanted to know who had put pressure on him. However, Amir's lawyers said he did not want to blame anybody else and would not be naming names.

Our correspondent added that Butt could be in for the stiffest sentence as the captain's role was a more significant one.

Really glad to hear the judge didn't believe his BS about this being the first time.

Ajfar · #25 November 2, 2011, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Mohammad Amir, the Pakistan fast bowler, has pleaded guilty to spot-fixing during the Lord's Test against England in 2010. He said there was "extreme pressure" on him and cited threats to his place in the side if he did not participate in the fixing.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan...ry/538662.html

Total BS. He was their number 1 strike bowler, no way in hell he was going to get dropped? If you are going to plead guilty at least do it properly, now they have less reason to believe him.