Butt and Amir accuse ICC of unfair treatment

A day after the ICC turned down their appeals against provisional suspensions from international cricket Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir hit out at the governing body's decision, reached after a two-day hearing in Dubai this weekend. The players' comments appear to be in contrast to those made by Aftab Gul, Butt's lawyer, who said yesterday they were satisfied with the hearing and just not its decision.

The pair returned to Lahore on Monday and spoke to reporters at the airport, claiming that the ICC had treated them unfairly. But as the day wore on, Butt appeared on several TV channels, intensifying his attack against the decision reached by Michael Beloff, the ICC code of conduct commissioner, and built up claims of "a conspiracy" against the players and Pakistan.

The root of their discontent was the the ICC and the hearing itself. "They listened to us but it felt as if their decision had already been made from before," Butt said. "It was not based on a single piece of evidence. There was no evidence that established that we had some agreement with Mazhar Majeed. After a 12-hour hearing the only so-called evidence they had was the same NOTW article and the same video everyone has seen."

Asked by Geo, a leading channel, to explain the contents of the video, an agitated Butt asked, "You are asking me questions but you tell me where am I in this video? These things have to be proven when you talk about such charges, you cannot base it on just suspicions. It is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. I am not here to convince you, did he say on video that I had done something? Of course I am denying all this. I feel like I am talking to the English media."

Amir echoed similar concerns. "Before leaving for Dubai we felt the case will be in our favour, but when he gave the decision it looked as if he had written the decision before," he told reporters at the airport. "We went for the truth but this could be a conspiracy against Pakistan, to tarnish Pakistan's reputation."

The PCB has distanced itself from the defence of the players, insisting that it is up to them and their lawyers to resolve the matter. They have prevented the players, including Mohammad Asif who has withdrawn his appeal, from using board facilities such as the National Cricket Academy for training. But now, the pair insist, it is time for authorities to get involved.

"It [the PCB distancing itself] wasn't expected," Butt said. "Nobody from the PCB has even called us so I don't know what is going on there. But I think now is the time for even the government to get involved as well as the PCB because it isn't just about three players. This is Pakistan being cornered."

Butt and Amir have been suspended from international cricket, along with Asif, since September 2. They are not permitted to appeal against the latest verdict and they will now appear before an independent anti-corruption tribunal that will look into the actual charges and give a verdict on whether the players are innocent or guilty.

No date has been set for the full hearing despite a request by the players to do so. "We'll carry on, we'll wait for the hearing," Butt said, "They haven't given us a date even though we asked for it."

Taffazul Rizvi, the PCB legal advisor has criticised the pair's attack on the arbitration. "It was highly inappropriate of the players to cast doubts on the impartiality of the tribunal after the short order had been announced," he said.