LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif began his appeal at world sport's highest court Thursday to overturn his ban for a betting scam fix in a Test against England. The Court of Arbitration for Sport has scheduled a day-long hearing for Asif to challenge a seven-year ban imposed by the International Cricket Council in February 2011. CAS said the three-man arbitration panel is expected to give its verdict within several weeks. Asif and two Pakistan teammates were jailed after being convicted in an English criminal trial of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. Asif was found to have deliberately bowled a no-ball at a prearranged time in the August 2010 match. The scam was discovered by a British tabloid newspaper, which paid a reported 150,000 pounds (then $241,000) to the players' agent in a sting operation. Pakistan's then-captain, Salman Butt, will appeal against his 10-year ban from all cricket at CAS Friday. Five years of Butt's sanction was deferred by the ICC and Asif had two years suspended. Asif, now aged 30, served six months of a one-year prison sentence and was released last May. When filing the appeal to CAS, his lawyers said the ICC's ruling was “not only flawed, it could also be unlawful.” “The ICC disciplinary tribunal breached its own procedures, and in other ways infringed fundamental human rights to which Mohammad Asif is entitled,” London-based firm SJS Solicitors said last year. Asif's case is being decided by CAS panel members: Canadian lawyer Graeme Mew, Anglo-Belgian Romano Subiotto, and English judge Robert Reid. Mohammad Amir was the third Pakistan player involved in the conspiracy. Amir was 18 when the match was played, and was banned by the ICC for five years. He served three months of a six-month sentence at a young offenders' institution. Butt wants to revive Pakistan career Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt Thursday pleaded for a revival of his cricket career, frozen by a long ban for spot-fixing in the infamous Lord's Test against England in 2010. Butt said the suspension was a career-ending punishment. “It may be easy for some people to say that a five-year ban from cricket is all right but what they don't realize is that for a sportsman like me this is like a lifetime ban,” he said in a statement issued by his lawyer. “My whole family and my life is disturbed.” Butt, whose wife gave birth to their second son on the day he was jailed by the British court, said he wanted another opportunity to play for Pakistan. “Cricket is my life and every single day that has passed has been so painful because I have not been able to play. All I want is an opportunity to get back into cricket whilst I am still young and I can still play well.” Butt's lawyer Yasin Patel said the ban was harsh. “We are appealing the sanctions that were imposed upon us and they should not have been so high,” Patel was quoted in the statement. The ICC will be represented by their legal firm Bird and Bird along with the head of their legal department. — Agencies
