ICC urges Al Jazeera to provide evidence for match-fixing investigation

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has urged Qatar based television station Al Jazeera to release all the material that would help the governing body investigate corruption in the sport.

Last weekend, the news organization aired a program entitled ‘Cricket’s match fixers’, which alleged incidents of spot-fixing in a Chennai match between England and India in December 2016 and an Australia-India Test in Ranchi in March 2017.

The documentary implicates some top-notch international cricketers in taking bribes and for being involved in match-fixing.

ICC seeks cooperation

The ICC CEO, Dave Richardson, has asked Al Jazeera to release all material relating their undercover investigation.

‘I ask Al Jazeera to release to us all the material they have relating to corruption in cricket,’ Richardson said in a statement on Friday.

‘We will conduct a full, thorough and fair investigation and 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.

‘We understand and fully respect the need to protect journalistic sources and our ACU (Anti-Corrpution Unit) 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.’

Al Jazeera will cooperate with ICC

On Friday night, the Qatar based television station published a statement saying it remains ‘fully committed’ to exposing corruption in cricket.

However, according to a spokesman from Al Jazeera’s investigative Unit, a meeting with the ICC would be ‘premature at this stage’ as several legal considerations must be taken into account.