Retired Australian cricket umpire Darrell Hair has said he's not
surprised at some current umpires allegedly being caught taking bribes.
The International Cricket Council has launched an "urgent
investigation" into claims by an Indian television station that several
umpires were willing to fix matches for money.
In a major sting
operation carried out in July, August and September ahead of the
recently concluded ICC World Cup T20 tournament, India TV undercover
reporters exposed six ICC umpires, belonging to Sri Lanka, Pakistan and
Bangladesh, willing to fix matches for money during T20 matches.
The six umpires who were exposed in the sting named "Operation World
Cup" are: Nadeem Ghauri and Anees Siddiqui of Pakistan, Nadir Shah of
Bangaldesh, and Gamini Dissanayake, Maurice Winston and Sagara Gallage
of Sri Lanka. The seventh umpire Sharfudoullah Shahid Saikat of
Bangladesh refused to give any favour in lieu of money.
"I was
wondering how long it would take before some umpire did some stupid
things. There have been rumours going around for ages, since the IPL
started, that umpires were involved," Hair told the Sydney Morning
Herald.
"It all comes down to two
things: opportunity and greed. If you're the type of person and you're
given the opportunity, the greedy part of you will say, 'Yeah, I'm in'."
The ICC said none of the six umpires - three from Sri Lanka, two from
Pakistan and one from Bangladesh - officiated in the T20 World Cup.
Hair, an international umpire for 16 years until he resigned in 2008, wasn't shocked by the allegations.
He said: "In my whole career, there had always been word that certain
umpires were on the take here or there. But to be fair, all the guys I
umpired with at international level I think were pretty much above
board.
"But I don't doubt that there have been others around,
probably in a lesser environment, trying to make a quick buck. ...People
like that have just got no bloody morals or values about the game."
After retiring, Hair was executive officer at the NSW Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association until last year.
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