The reason why tribunal wanted to give the minimum punishment was the fact that it had no concrete evidences against the trio except the video footages of the no-balls, sources said.
Sources further quoted him as saying that he would reduce the penalty on Mohammad Amir to one year, and award the other two players, i.e. Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, a maximum of 18-24 months of penalization.
Sources said that Michael Beloff was not satisfied with the Term of Reference (TOR) of the ICC Code of Conduct which gives minimum penalization of five years for match fixing and wanted a less harsh punishment for the Pakistani trio, including former skipper Salman Butt, and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.
Sources further informed that Beloff said he was not satisfied with the tribunal’s decision and therefore he has recommended changes in the ICC’s Code of Conduct with reference to spot fixing.
The ICC’s Code of Conduct has no direct penalization for spot fixing, sources said adding, that the spot fixing is not a bigger crime as compared to match fixing because it doesn’t change the outcome of the match therefore Beloff wants a lesser punishment on this account.
In the ICC’s Code of Conduct, the penalization for match fixing is two years ban and since spot fixing is a smaller crime in nature its punishment should also be resized, sources quoted Beloff as saying.
Sources further said that Michael Beloff has assured the three Pakistani cricketers of his complete support if they challenge their bans at the International Court of Arbitration for Sports.
Michael Beloff wanted to award two years ban on Mohammad Amir, and 30 months bans on each of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, sources concluded.
