UAE players Amir Hayat and Ashfaq Ahmed banned for 8 years by the ICC

The ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal has found United Arab Emirates (UAE) players Amir Hayat and Ashfaq Ahmed guilty of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. The UAE duo have been banned from all cricket for eight years for the same.

The issue first came to light in 2019, when the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) issued a suspension notice to Ashfaq Ahmed during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in October 2019. The ICC then charged both Amir Hayat and Ashfaq Ahmed with five breaches of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.

The ICC announced an eight-year ban for the duo in a media release on Thursday, with Alex Marshall, the ICC General Manager – Integrity Unit, hoping the punishment serves as a warning for others.

“Both Amir and Ashfaq had played cricket at the highest level for long enough to understand the threat from match-fixers. The two UAE players attended several ICC anti-corruption education sessions and knew how to avoid becoming involved in any corrupt activity. They failed in these obligations and let down their teammates and everyone involved in UAE Cricket, in their adopted country. Their lengthy ban should serve as a warning to others,” the ICC official claimed.

The bans against Amir Hayat and Ashfaq Ahmed are backdated to September 13, 2020, when they were provisionally suspended for corrupt conduct in relation to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019 in the UAE.

UAE duo found guilty of five counts of code of conduct breach by the ICC

After a full hearing and presentation of written and oral arguments, the ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal found the duo guilty of five counts of breaching cricket’s anti-corruption rules.

The regulations violated by the cricketers were Article 2.1.3, Article 2.4.2, Article 2.4.3, Article 2.4.4 and Article 2.4.5 of the corruption code. They mainly relate to seeking and accepting bribes to fix matches and failing to disclose to the Anti-Corruption Unit all gifts received by the players.

You can read the entire charges here.