Banned South Africa Batsman ‘Feared For Safety’
Dec 23, 2016 at 12:25 PM
Alviro Petersen, former South Africa batsman, was recently banned by Cricket South Africa (CSA) as he failed to report the approaches from an illegal bookmaker, asking him to fix games. Though he himself didn’t fix any games or instruct any player to do so, the fact that he didn’t report it to the anti-corruption authorities meant he breached an offence. The former opener pleaded guilty and was thereby handed a two-year ban by the board.
Petersen also didn’t report discussions about the same matter with his Lions teammate Ghulam Bodi, who was banned for 20 years for acting as an intermediary for bookmakers. Petersen, recently admitted that during the investigation, he feared for the safety of himself and his family and thus hired a bodyguard.
“These discussions (with former teammate Ghulam Bodi) took place at a time when Alviro knew that the fixing scandal was under investigation and he was convinced that the fixing operation would be shut down imminently,” an official statement from Cricket South Africa said. “Knowing that the match-fixing is controlled by criminal gangs, Alviro feared for his and his family’s safety, to the point where he engaged a bodyguard while playing for the Lions last season.”
“The events that gave rise to the charges Alviro has pleaded guilty to take place under pressured and unusual circumstances,” the statement further added about the former opener. Petersen however, admitted that he fully cooperated with the anti corruption authorities, “to the point that he gave him information and details of a possible fix that was going to happen hours before a game.”