Gulam Bodi banned for 20 years

Cricket SA imposed a ban of 20 years on Gulam Bodi after he admitted charges of contriving or attempting to fix matches.

Johannesburg - Cricket South Africa has imposed a ban of 20 years on Gulam Bodi on Monday after he admitted charges of contriving or attempting to fix matches in the 2015 RAM SLAM T20 Challenge Series.

Bodi was charged with several counts of contriving or attempting to fix matches on 31 December 2015 following an investigation conducted by CSA’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. Under the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Code for Personnel, Bodi had until 18 January 2016 to respond to the charges.

Read: Bodi charged in match-fixing saga

Five of those years are suspended on condition that Mr Bodi commits no further offences under the Code and demonstrates to CSA’s reasonable satisfaction that he has actively and constructively participated in corruption-related player education programmes when asked to do so.

“CSA thoroughly considered all the relevant factors and determined that a lengthy ban was appropriate”, commented CSA Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat.

“Our attitude to corruption will always be one of zero tolerance. There is no doubt that Mr Bodi’s actions have threatened the integrity and image of the game that we love and he must be handed a strong punishment. We have had many discussions with Mr Bodi and he accepts the folly of his actions,” added Mr Lorgat.

“We are fortunate in this instance that several players rejected his approaches and, as a direct result of our integrity processes, which include CSA and SACA player education programmes, the matter was brought to light and meticulously investigated,” said Mr Lorgat.

“There are no winners in this sort of ill-fated and unfortunate matter. However, all of us in the cricket community must learn from this experience and remain vigilant. We expect that that Mr Bodi himself will learn and will actively assist us in reminding players of the dangers of corrupt behaviour,” said Mr Lorgat.

Since certain aspects of the investigation are ongoing, neither CSA nor the ICC will make any further comment in respect of the matter.

African News Agency