Asif’s appeal against spot-fixing conviction rejected

LONDON: The appeal of Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Asif over the spot-fixing conviction was rejected by the Royal Court of Justice on Wednesday.

In their ruling, the judges said they were “not persuaded that there are any grounds, arguable or otherwise, for attacking the safety of the convictions of this applicant (Asif)”.

“The renewed applications are accordingly dismissed,” they added.

Asif was released from prison last May after serving half of his 12-month sentence for the fixing scandal which rocked the cricketing world. The seamer was among two other Pakistani players imprisoned after a plot to bowl no-balls deliberately during the 2010 Lord’s test against England was unearthed during an undercover investigation by the now defunct News of the World.

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt was jailed for 30 months while fast bowelr Mohammad Amir was detained for six months in a young offenders institution. All three players have been barred from playing as a result of a five year ban imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC).