‘We’ll try & bring new law soon’
New Delhi: Sports Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said they were committed to put in place a new legislation very soon to deal with the menace of fixing in sports and pushed for strong punishment for the guilty in the recent spot-fixing scandal. Jitendra had a meeting with law Minister Kapil Sibal to discuss the proposed legislation. “I agree (with law ministry) that there should be a law. A strong punishment should be handed to people who were involved in the shameful act (spot-fixing in IPl). Sports and law ministry very soon will bring a new law,” Jitendra told reporters after the meeting with Sibal.
bcci welcome for law proposal
New Delhi: IPl chairman Rajeev Shukla on Tuesday welcomed the government’s proposal to enact a new law under which spot-fixing and match fixing would fall in the category of criminal offences. “law Minister Kapil Sibal has expressed his opinion to enact a law by which stringent measures would be adopted on match-fixing and it’s a welcome step because it’s not just about cricket, it is about other sports also where betting is taking place,” Shukla said on Wednesday. “The government is thinking on those lines and we would welcome that,” he added. Shukla said that cricket should remain a “gentleman’s” game. “We want that cricket should remain a gentleman’s game. Most of the preventive measures have been taken. And apart from that BCCI is one body which has not pardoned its players who have been caught in match-fixing earlier. “The other boards of the world have given exceptions to their players but BCCI has not given exception to any players. And they are still facing a ban. The BCCI is very strict as far as match-fixing is concerned.”
Sreesanth suspended from BPCl
Kochi: Public sector Bharat Petroleum Corporation ltd on Wednesday suspended tainted cricketer S Sreesanth who was arrested by Delhi police on allegations of spot fixing. The speedster was posted in the Marketing division of BPCl at Irumpanam near here as Assistant Manager, BPCl sources said. Sreesanth was earlier dropped from the Kerala lottery advertisement.
No Aussie plan to curb Twitter
Sydney: Cricket Australia said on Tuesday it had no immediate plan to curb the use of social media by players after a Twitter rant by David Warner, but suggested it could happen in the future. Opening batsman Warner is due to face a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday into an alleged code of conduct breach after a heated tirade at two top cricket writers. He faces sanctions ranging from a fine to suspension or counselling. Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland would not comment on the Warner controversy but said using social media remained a key tool for players to engage with fans and promote the game. “Absolutely (I’ll encourage players to use social media) — it’s very important,” he told reporters. “We want our players to be engaging with fans. Part of our strategy is to put the fans first and for them to have a closer and better relationship with our players.” Sutherland said there had been no discussions about developing a social media policy for players but admitted it might be something that needs to be considered. “We haven’t (discussed having a policy) so far,” he said.
PNS/Agencies