Two UAE cricketers banned for 8 years for corrupt conduct, following decision to move T20 World Cup to UAE and Oman

Two players from the United Arab Emirates were banned from all forms of cricket for eight years on Thursday for violating the International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-corruption code.  

Amir Hayat and Ashfaq Ahmed were banned for their corrupt conduct during the men’s T20 World Cup qualifier in April 2019. 

The eight-year bans were backdated to September 13 2020 when the ICC provisionally suspended both cricketers. 

Ahmed has played 12 T20s and 16 one-day internationals for UAE, while Hayat represented the gulf country in four T20s and nine ODIs. 

Over the last two years, three other UAE cricketers - Mohammad Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed - were also banned for at least five years. 

"Their lengthy ban should serve as a warning to others"https://t.co/HcIhwg7sHr

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) July 1, 2021

The ICC anti-corruption tribunal found Hayat and Ashfaq guilty of five charges that include a player taking a bribe to fix a cricket match or ensuring the occurrence of a particular event for the purposes of betting on a cricket match. 

“Both Amir and Ashfaq had played cricket at the highest level for long enough to understand the threat from match fixers,” ICC general manager Alex Marshall said in a statement. 

“The two UAE players attended several ICC anti-corruption education sessions, and knew how to avoid becoming involved in any corrupt activity. … Their lengthy ban should serve as a warning to others.” 

The news follows an announcement on Tuesday that the T20 World Cup 2021 will be held in the UAE and Oman instead of India because of surging Covid-19 cases in India.  

ICC Acting CEO Geoff Allardice said: "The decision gives us the certainty we need to stage the event in a country that is a proven international host of multi-team events in a bio-secure environment."