BREAKING NEWS:::: SHOIAB and ASIF ban Lifted!!!!!!

[Aries007]

I hold my opinion on this verdict because I haven't read the full context of the verdict yet and I also want to see what ICC and WADA has to say about it.

People are saying that Shane Warne was banned for a year and he pleaded innocence. Please correct me if I'm wrong but Warne never appealed against his ban.

I don't know about Akhtar but Asif who was never in a contract, was never given any material to read, never attended any seminars should not have had been punished in first place. It was PCB's duty to educate their players.

 

[The Sean]

A well thought out first post. Welcome to the forum mate.

 

[Dravid]

It was PCB's duty to educate their players.

But if they fail to do so, should the players get away with absolutely nothing because they didn't know about it?


If Asif fixes a match tomorrow and says he didn't know it was illegal should he be let off the hook? No, he should be banned. And this case is no different.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Further on this - it seems that the problems with the testing procedure may only be coming from the third, dissenting member of the tribunal (the one that voted against the acquittal in a 2-1 verdict), who added an 11 page note in which he apparently insisted the tests be re-administered and this whole process restarted.

So I am now reasonably sure (I could still be mistaken, and am happy to be corrected on this) that the testing procedure may actually have had nothing to do with the acquittal, and was solely about the tribunal's acceptance of Shoaib and Asif's declarations of ignorance.

I'll give that a read tomorrow. Not sure I can wade through it at 3am. Based on what you've said though, it seems like a pretty terrible decision.

 

[pasag]

32. In view of the above, it is plainly evident that neither Shoaib Akhtar nor Muhammad Asif were ever warned or cautioned against taking supplements. Only recently, in August 2006, when Muhammad Asif himself volunteered to Darryn Lifson that he was taking supplements, was he told to discontinue the same. The vast record of the proceedings before the ADC and this Appeals Committee establishes that Shoaib Akhtar and Muhammad Asif were never advised against taking supplements, nor were they even provided with any international or local publications warning them against the use of supplements. Hence, this Appeals Committee by a majority of 2 to 1 is of the considered view that Shoaib Akhtar and Muhammad Asif have successfully established that they held an honest and reasonable belief that the supplements ingested by them did not contain any prohibited substances. Accordingly, the Appellants have met the test of 'exceptional circumstances' as laid down under clause 4.5 of the PCB Anti Doping Regulations. This Appeals Committee therefore holds that Shoaib Akhtar and Muhammad Asif cannot be deemed to have committed a doping offence under clause 4.1 of the PCB Anti Doping Regulations. The ban and punishment imposed by the ADC Decision dated 1.11.06 is hereby set aside as being contrary to the provisions of clause 4.5 of the PCB Anti Doping Regulations.

Wow, that looks pretty bad I'll admit.

 

[Dravid]

PCB are a joke.

 

[Nishant]

Unbelievable! The ban gets lifted! But, i guess, its best for world cricket that they are not banned. Makes it a lot more competitive when teams play pakistan!

 

[Dravid]

Unbelievable! The ban gets lifted! But, i guess, its best for world cricket that they are not banned. Makes it a lot more competitive when teams play pakistan!

Despite the fact that they have cheaters right?

 

[Slow Love™]

I'll give that a read tomorrow. Not sure I can wade through it at 3am. Based on what you've said though, it seems like a pretty terrible decision.

It's quite poor, if I have understood it correctly. It judges as crucial evidence such as the PCB Anti-Doping officer not being able to recall if the players were told about the use of supplements not on the prohibited list at a lecture Shoaib attended. Another testimony was from the team physio, who was given a pile of pamphlets with the WADA guidelines, and he instructed the team at a practice session to take them home and study them. But nobody can prove that Shoaib and Asif were at the session or that they actually collected these documents (echoes of part of Warne's defence here). Those in the Pakistani camp with the responsibilities of educating the players as to banned substances and supplements etc are quite forthcoming about their failure to do so.

It does seem a fairly poor standard for professional athletes to claim ignorance as a defence in an elite, international context. Certainly aspects of Shoaib's testimony, coupled with his insistence on his own, non-team doctor heavily implied he'd known what he was doing.

It seems like a huge issue here is that the ICC regulations don't allow for an acquittal on the basis of ignorance, but the PCB ones do - and the original judgements adhered to the ICC standard, which this tribunal found to be inappropriate.

 

[Langeveldt]

Superb that they are back, now Pakistan can be a force at the world cup again..

Hahah, yeah I've always been supportive of cheats, and obviously cannot wait for these guys to put some strength back into Pakistan cricket.. I hope they do well in the world cup and encourage others to do the same..

 

[Dravid]

Hahah, yeah I've always been supportive of cheats, and obviously cannot wait for these guys to put some strength back into Pakistan cricket.. I hope they do well in the world cup and encourage others to do the same..

I predict a new book coming out by Akthar.

 

[Fusion]

Disgraceful over reaction in this thread from just about everybody, whether they agree or disagree with the decision. I just read the news on Cricinfo, and even though I'm disappointed by the decision made, I think it was the right one considering the facts presented. I think PCB screwed up royal by not following the proper guidelines in the first place, and it makes sense to me how the committee would decide they were both innocent of the charges. Personally, I think a bit of malice may have been invloved from at least Akhtar's part, taking advantage of the fact that PCB guidlines didn't technically ban the substance in question.

Either way, they both got off, and I really don't think I'll watch either one play with awe and respect like I used to. I may have if they served their sentence, but not now.

Well said. I have absolutely no respect for Akhtar and very little for Asif. I think they both should have served their original bans. Like you said, I MIGHT have forgiven Asif after he served his ban, but probably not now (Shoaib will never get my respect, no matter what he does). However, there is a bit of overreaction going on here in regards to the PCB. They had an independent tribunal that heard the appeal and made the judgment. Though I strongly disagree with the decision, I don't see why PCB is being trashed for the independent tribunal's verdict. You can trash them for not properly conducting the test and advising their players, but IMO they acted properly vis a vis the appeal process.

 

[aussie]

While we're at it, let's bring back Gaitlin on the track so he can be a force. And Ben Johnson. In fact, to hell with it, legalise drugs in sport, then we're on a level playing field.

yo yo, cool it mate. I was bored enough to read out that whole verdict & it seems that mistakes were made by the PCB in not having not educated is cricketes enough about what substances to use & other crazy little details that Slove love has been mentioning & in fact Shoaib & Asif had taken these supplements with no intention of enhancing themselves. So really the blokes are as innocent as a pretty little virgin girl..

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

yo yo, cool it mate. I was bored enough to read out that whole verdict & it seems that mistakes were made by the PCB in not having not educated is cricketes enough about what substances to use & other crazy little details that Slove love has been mentioning & in fact Shoaib & Asif had taken these supplements with no intention of enhancing themselves. So really the blokes are as innocent as a pretty little virgin girl..

Hahahaha. That deserves the skull.

 

[Langeveldt]

Shoaib & Asif had taken these supplements with no intention of enhancing themselves. So really the blokes are as innocent as a pretty little virgin girl..

Haha, you mean they took these supplements because they had a hole that needed filling and couldn't wait till lunch? Damn, I shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly

 

[Dravid]

yo yo, cool it mate. I was bored enough to read out that whole verdict & it seems that mistakes were made by the PCB in not having not educated is cricketes enough about what substances to use & other crazy little details that Slove love has been mentioning & in fact Shoaib & Asif had taken these supplements with no intention of enhancing themselves. So really the blokes are as innocent as a pretty little virgin girl..

 

[Slow Love™]

yo yo, cool it mate. I was bored enough to read out that whole verdict & it seems that mistakes were made by the PCB in not having not educated is cricketes enough about what substances to use & other crazy little details that Slove love has been mentioning & in fact Shoaib & Asif had taken these supplements with no intention of enhancing themselves. So really the blokes are as innocent as a pretty little virgin girl..

Hahaha, In Da House...

 

[shortpitched713]

This whole tribunal was a farce. They got off on a technicality. I don't neccessarily blame the players for using their right of apeal, but the inability of the PCB to enforce any sort of punishment on drug cheats due to their own incompetence is just ludicrous. Both of these guys should have been punished. Shoaib in particular isx getting no sympathy from me.

 

[cricistan]

I predict a new book coming out by Akthar.

i predict you gettin your ass kicked if you dont shut your **** hole!!

 

[silentstriker]

Both of them should have been banned for a long time. Getting off on a technicality is a farce, a complete farce. Pakistani cricket plunges to new lows. And its sad because a lot of their cricketers like Yousuf, and Inzy are so awesome to watch. Now it just leaves a bad taste in the mouth.