ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat has revealed that he thought of trapping players ready to fix matches through sting operations but the plan had to be dropped after it was opposed by national boards.
Published: May 12, 2011, 12:39 PM (IST)
Edited: May 12, 2011, 12:39 PM (IST)
Lorgat said another way to check corruption was to keep a tab on the players’ bank accounts but there were issues of privacy involved © AFP
London: May 12, 2011
ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat has revealed that he thought of trapping players ready to fix matches through sting operations but the plan had to be dropped after it was opposed by national boards.
“I thought when this issue came up last year that perhaps we could have a ‘mystery shopper’,” Lorgat told the ‘BBC’s Hardtalk’ programme.
“In other words, some people posing as bookmakers approach players and see if those players report along with our codes of conduct.”
But Lorgat said national boards were against the idea.
“We would have to get the players’ federations consenting to it and they of course opposed it and were not happy, they considered it a form of entrapment,” he said.
Lorgat said another way to check corruption was to keep a tab on the players’ bank accounts but there were issues of privacy involved.
“It is a bit more complex than that, there are human rights issues and legalities to understand properly,” he said.
Lorgat said the ICC was trying to improve its anti-corruption drive to ensure that erring players are caught by the governing body instead of tabloids or newspapers — as was the case in last year’s spot-fixing scandal involving three Pakistan players.
“We are doing a review of our whole process and all of our systems right now. We have engaged an independent firm to conduct that review and I’m hopeful that some constructive recommendations will come up that will enhance or improve the way we are currently tackling the issue,” he said.
© PTI
