Cricket chief proposes jail for sports cheats

SYDNEY - World cricket boss Malcolm Speed said today he supported jail sentences of up to 10 years for corrupt sportspeople and called on governments worldwide to make cheating in sport a criminal offence.

Speed, an Australian lawyer who is chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), told a conference in Berlin, Germany, that governments needed to crack down on attacks against the integrity of sport.

"Sport should call very loudly and with some urgency on all governments to introduce cheating in sport legislation," Speed told the SportAccord conference.

He applauded recent sports corruption laws in Britain which provide for jail terms of up to two years for sporting corruption.

But he believes the sentences are too lenient.

"We think 10 years is a more appropriate penalty," he said.

"The ICC makes no apology for wanting to see any person who attacks cricket's integrity in this way behind bars."

Corruption in cricket reached a head five years ago when evidence emerged that some international players had accepted money from bookmakers to fix matches.

Speed now believes the international game is clean, but said it would remain vigilant.

"Other sports will face similar issues to those that cricket has faced with corruption through betting," Speed said.

"In the last year we have seen football in Germany, horse racing in England and international tennis impacted by suggestions of corruption.

"Cricket's message to other sports is to be extremely careful in dealing with this potential attack on your sport's integrity.

"Where a player agrees to under-perform in return for payment from a bookmaker or gambler, his actions strike at the heart of the game.

"Unless a sport can guarantee that all of its participants are trying their hardest to advance the interests of their team, in every aspect of the event, the sporting public is entitled to distrust and disown the sport.

"It is only five years since corruption struck a powerful blow to the integrity of cricket. We have dealt with this internally through the introduction of our Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) which is responsible for investigating allegations of corruption, overseeing stringent security measures at venues and educating current and future international players.

"This system has led Lord Condon, the ACSU chairman, to state that corruption in cricket is under control.

"The ICC will, however, keep funding the ACSU to the same high level and continue to work closely with governments and police forces in legal and illegal betting markets to promote regulation and legislation.

"Other sports and governments owe it to their stakeholders to be mindful of cricket's experience."

Speed said the British legislation was a "major positive" for London's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

"Historically sport has had to operate within confusing common law or statutory definitions of corruption that varied from country to country.

"The new UK legislation is sport-specific and provides a clear definition of cheating in sport. It is long overdue and should be welcomed by all sports."

He would like similar laws to be introduced in Germany before next year's soccer World Cup, in China for the 2008 Olympics and in the eight Caribbean nations which will host the 2007 cricket World Cup.

- AAP