Jayasuriya banned for two years for destroying evidence of corruption sought by ICC
Dubai, Feb 26: Legendary Sri Lanka batsman Sanath Jayasuriya was Tuesday banned for two years after admitting to obstruct an anti-corruption probe by "destroying" the phones which were sought as evidence by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Jayasuriya admitted breaching the anti-corruption unit (ACU) code of the global body on two separate counts.
"As a result of the admissions, he has accepted a sanction of a two-year period of ineligibility," the ICC stated.
However, he wasn't given the maximum punishment of five years for his breach after the world body took his "previous good conduct" into account. Jayasuriya's sanction will be a backdated one starting from October 16, 2018.
The left-handed batsman and orthodox spinner is a former Sri Lankan captain who was a key member of the 1996 World Cup-winning team before going on to serve two terms as the chairman of selectors.
The 49-year-old was adjudged 'Player of the Tournament' during Sri Lanka's victorious 1996 World Cup campaign.
Jayasuriya was questioned as part of the ICC's investigation of wide scale corruption in Sri Lankan cricket.
The Article 2.4.6 of ICC Code of Conduct deals with "failure or refusal, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the ACU."
The Article 2.4.7 deals with "obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU, including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information..."
Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager ACU said: "This conviction under the Code demonstrates the importance of participants in cricket co-operating with investigations. Compelling participants to cooperate under the Code is a vital weapon in our efforts to rid our sport of corruptors. These rules are essential to maintain the integrity of our sport.
As per the detailed judgement uploaded by the ICC, Jayasuriya was asked to hand over his mobile devices after ACU GM Alex Marshall was satisfied that information on the mobile devices belonging to him in the period between January 1, 2017 to 22 September, 2017 "might be relevant to the investigation."
Marshall instructed the ACU team to "demand" the two mobile phones.
Accordingly, Jayasuriya was investigated by the ICC ACU unit on three specific dates -- September 22, 23 and October 5 in 2017.
As per the copy of the judgement, the ACU team had specifically asked "Jayasuriya to give details of all mobile phones that he owned, used or had access to".
On September 22, 2017, Jayasuriya informed the investigators that he had two mobile devices.
However the prolific batsman of yesteryears then changed his statement on the very next day (September 23, 2017) and divulged that he had two more mobile phones which got lost between May 15 to 23/24, 2017. These two numbers had last digits of '888' and '088'.
He told the ACU officials that those two numbers were not in use.
However, Jayasuriya had no inkling that the "investigators called up on the numbers with last digits '888' and the phone rang contrary to his statement."
But on the second occasion when ICC officials tried, there was an automated response.
On October 5, when Jayasuriya was represented by his legal counsel, the player said that he had destroyed the earlier phone after a private video went viral and he was "under stress".
But according to his lawyer, it was his driver, who retrieved the sim card and put it in another phone. It was later handed over to Jayasuriya, who then used that earlier '888' sim to check text messages.
The ACU unit had proof that between March 15, 2017 and September 14, 2017, hundreds of calls and text messages were recorded on the number ending with '888' which proved that the cricketer was lying.
Once his lawyer admitted that Jayasuriya had misled the investigation, he was charged with relevant sections 2.4.6 and 2.4.7 respectively.
The ACU recently gave an amnesty in relation to Sri Lanka Cricket resulting in 11 players and other participants coming forward with new information.
"The amnesty has worked very well and has delivered significant new and important intelligence," Marshall said.
"I am very grateful to those who participated in the amnesty and as a result of the information shared we now have a much clearer picture of the situation in Sri Lanka and our investigations are continuing."
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Iran's World Cup place in US put in doubt by Middle East war. FIFA has Iraq next in line
Geneva (AP): Iran's place at the men's World Cup in three months' time was put in doubt Monday amid an escalating Middle East conflict sparked by the soccer tournament's co-host the United States.
Iran is due to play its three group stage games in the U.S. — two in Inglewood, California, then in Seattle — from June 15-26. Cities in Canada and Mexico also will host some of the 104 games.
The U.S. and Israel have targeted Iran in coordinated attacks since Saturday that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens more senior officials.
It provoked an Iranian response that aimed missiles at U.S. allies including 2022 World Cup host Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which FIFA has picked to stage the 2034 edition.
“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” said Iran's top soccer official Mehdi Taj, a vice president of the Asian Football Confederation.
It is unclear if the state-backed Iranian soccer federation could refuse to send its team to the 48-nation tournament that starts June 11, or the U.S. government could effectively block the team.
FIFA has declined comment since Saturday, when secretary general Mattias Grafström said it would “monitor developments around all issues around the world.”
The White House's top official overseeing World Cup preparations, Andrew Guiliani, seemed unconcerned Saturday in a social media post.
“We'll deal with soccer games tomorrow,” Guiliani wrote about Iran, “tonight, we celebrate their opportunity for freedom.”
Here is a look at the issues in play:
Asian soccer power
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Iran has one of the best national teams in Asia and has qualified for six of the past eight World Cups.
It is No. 20 in the FIFA world rankings of 211 teams, and has not been lower than No. 24 since the last World Cup in Qatar.
Iran was among the second-seeded teams in the World Cup draw held in Washington, D.C. in December, minutes after U.S. President Donald Trump was presented with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize.
Though Taj and other Iranian soccer officials were denied visas to enter the U.S., the draw outcome was favorable for Iran, especially in the expanded format where most third-place teams advance to the knockout rounds.
Iran starts against low-ranked New Zealand, then plays one of the weaker top-seeded nations, Belgium, and finishes against Egypt.
Iran is likely to be supported in stadiums by its diaspora in the U.S., though residents of the Middle East nation are subject to a ban on entering the country.
Trump's government has promised exemptions from its travels bans for athletes and coaches arriving for major sports events like the World Cup.
Politics around Iran inside World Cup stadiums is nothing new. Protests over domestic issues were aired by Iran fans at the last World Cup.
The FIFA rules
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FIFA's World Cup regulations envisage a team withdrawing, or being excluded, from the tournament though the legal language is vague to say the least.
In that scenario, according to Article 6.7, “FIFA shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary.”
“FIFA may decide to replace the Participating Member Association in question with another association,” the rules say.
That legal framing seems to give FIFA president Gianni Infantino wide powers to shape any decision relating to Iran.
Just 18 months ago, the decision announced by Infantino to add Lionel Messi's team Inter Miami to the 2025 Club World Cup lineup appeared to have no basis in formal tournament rules.
Consequences of withdrawingShould Iran pull out of the World Cup — still hugely speculative — its soccer federation would forfeit at least $10.5 million.
FIFA pays $9 million in prize money to each of the 16 federations whose teams fail to advance from the group stage, and all 48 qualified teams get $1.5 million “to cover preparation costs.”
The Iranian federation also would face disciplinary fines from FIFA — at least 250,000 Swiss francs ($321,000) for withdrawing up to 30 days before the tournament, and at least 500,000 Swiss francs ($642,000) if the decision is in the last month before kickoff.
Iran would risk being excluded by FIFA from qualifying for the next World Cup in 2030 as well.
Next in line
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Iran was a fast World Cup qualifier last March, earning one of eight guaranteed places allocated to the Asian Football Confederation.
Should Iran pull out, the likely replacement from Asia should be Iraq or the United Arab Emirates.
Iraq and the UAE were effectively the ninth and 10th-ranked Asian teams through the various qualifying groups and advanced to a two-leg playoff last November.
Iraq won 3-2 on aggregate — eliminating the UAE — to advance to the intercontinental playoffs in Mexico and, on March 31, it is scheduled to play an elimination game against Bolivia or Suriname with a World Cup place at stake.
One possible element of uncertainty is the language of the World Cup tournament rules.
FIFA wrote that it can decide to replace a withdrawn team “with another association,” though without specifying the replacement must come from the same continental confederation.
