(UTV|COLOMBO) – A top Cricket Coach has been banned from all sport for 10-years after being found guilty of “Approaching” Pakistan Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Irfan Ansari was found guilty by the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s Anti-Corruption Tribunal of approaching Ahmed with a view to engaging him in corruption during Pakistan’s series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2017.
Ansari was charged with directly soliciting, inducing, enticing or encouraging a participant to disclose inside information; and failure or refusal to cooperate with the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU)’s investigation, including refusing a request by the ACU to take access his mobile devices.
Though Ansari was not an active cricketer, he is “Bound by the code as a result of his affiliation to the Pakistan cricket team and also as a result of being a coach to two teams that participate in domestic matches in the UAE”, an ICC statement said.
The ICC praised Ahmed for coming forward with information about being approached by Ansari. Alex Marshall, the ICC General Manager, ACU said. “I’d like to place on record my thanks to Sarfaraz Ahmed, who showed true leadership and professionalism from the moment he reported this approach,” Marshall said. “He recognised it for what it was, rejected it and reported it. He then supported our investigation and subsequent tribunal.
“This is the first time we have prosecuted for failure to cooperate with an investigation since the new rules enabling us to demand the participants hand over their phone for examination and the sanction reflects the seriousness of the offence. It is an important tool to aid our investigations and continue in our efforts to rid the sport of these corrupters,” Marshall added.
Ansari has been involved with the Sharjah Cricket Club for 30-years and was head coach until he was fired in 2017.
[alert color=”faebcc” icon=”fa-commenting”]Keeping up to date with breaking news while you are on the move is now simple with UTV Alerts [textmarker color=”8a6d3b”]Type REG UTV and send to 77000[/textmarker] on your Dialog, Airtel, or Hutch mobile connection[/alert]
