Pakistan 'corruption' trio charged and suspended by ICC

cricketers accused of corruption have been charged

The three Pakistan cricketers accused of corruption have been charged with various offences by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir are set to be questioned again by police over allegations that deliberate no-balls were bowled against England. The ICC charges relate to "alleged irregular behaviour" in the fourth Test at Lord's last Thursday and Friday. The trio have been provisionally suspended and have 14 days to appeal. The ICC has agreed to not to speak to the players until the Metropolitan Police give permission. Asif and Amir are alleged to have bowled three no-balls at pre-determined times to facilitate betting coups after a "middle-man" was reported to have accepted £150,000 from an undercover reporter from the News of the World, who published the story on Sunday. 

"We will not tolerate corruption in cricket - simple as that," said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat.  "We must be decisive with such matters and if proven, these offences carry serious penalties up to a life ban. "The ICC will do everything possible to keep such conduct out and we will stop at nothing to protect the sport's integrity. "While we believe the problem is not widespread, we must always be vigilant. "It is important, however, that we do not pre-judge the guilt of these three players. That is for the independent tribunal alone to decide." Butt, Asif and Amir have been officially notified of the offences they are alleged to have committed. Any player ultimately found to be guilty of committing an offence under the code would be subject to the sanctions described in the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code for Players and Player Support Personnel.

That could mean upholding the player's indefinite ban with the possibility, at the discretion of an independent tribunal, of additional fines. Details of the date of the tribunal hearing are still to be finalised. The BBC's sports editor David Bond said the action taken by the ICC was "decisive and unexpected". He added: "There is still a police investigation going on and those players will go back to Scotland Yard to be re-interviewed by them [on Friday]. We could eventually get criminal charges. "The ICC clearly understands that cricket's credibility is at stake with this whole affair and they had to move swiftly to save the sport's reputation." More details about the charges are expected to be released at an ICC news conference at 1100 BST on Friday. West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels recently completed a two-year ban imposed by the ICC after passing on team information to a bookmaker during a one-day series in India in January 2007, although the 29-year-old denies any wrongdoing. 

Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan's High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan had claimed that the News of the World video allegedly exposing the scandal may have been made after the incident. But the BBC learnt that the Metropolitan Police, who are investigating the alleged case and have been working in tandem with the ICC, believe that the video evidence so crucial to the case is authentic.