Al Jazeera Postpones Meeting with ICC, Says Handing Over Unedited Footage of Sting Would Be ‘Premature’
Al Jazeera has stated that it has decided to postpone a meeting with the International Cricket Council which would have been about passing on unedited footage of a sting operation it aired recently about fixing in cricket. The Doha-based news broadcaster stated that such a meeting would be premature considering the potential criminal investigations that could be conducted in India and Sri Lanka, the two countries where the documentary alleges that the malpractices took place.
According to the website of the news broadcaster, a spokesperson for Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit said the broadcaster had to “take into account ongoing legal considerations, including potential criminal investigations into the match-fixing allegations in Sri Lanka and India.” “That being the case, a meeting with the ICC would be premature at this stage”.
The documentary states that three players from England and two from Australia had agreed to score at rates specified by fixers during specific periods of two Test matches. It also alleged that the pitch at Galle for a Test match between India and Sri Lanka was made according to the directions of fixers. In many instances, the documentary raises questions on the ICC’s governance and commitment to weeding out corruption.
“It should also be borne in mind that in certain respects the broadcast puts the ICC itself under the spotlight, although we are confident that this will not ultimately be a bar to cooperation in due course,” said the spokesperson before adding that “this will not ultimately be a bar to co-operation in due course”.
On Friday, ICC chief Dave Richardson had in a statement, requested Al Jazeera to provide the full unedited footage, which is 15 hours long according to some media reports, so that it can carry out an investigation of its own.
“I ask Al Jazeera to release to us all the material they have relating to corruption in cricket,” Richardson said. “We will conduct a full, thorough and fair investigation and will ensure no stone is left unturned as we examine all allegations of corruption made in the programme. To do so, we need to see all the evidence they state they possess.
“I am encouraged by their public commitment to cooperate and now ask that they do so, in releasing all relevant material. We understand and fully respect the need to protect journalistic sources and our ACU team have worked with other media companies on that basis. However, to prove or disprove these allegations, we need to see the evidence referred to in the programme.”
Courtesy : indianexpress
