The ICC have upheld the provisional suspensions of Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir after dismissing their appeals.
Trio could be facing lifetime-bans from the game
The International Cricket Council have upheld the provisional suspensions of Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir after dismissing their appeals at a hearing in Doha.
Test captain Butt and seamer Amir were suspended by the ICC, along with Mohammad Asif, pending the results of an investigation into spot-fixing allegations made during the recent tour of England.
The claims against the trio concerned the alleged bowling of no-balls to order during the fourth Test at Lord's.
Seamer Asif had initially joined his team-mates in confirming his intention to appeal against his suspension, but withdrew from the process earlier this month.
Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan announced following a meeting with the trio on September 2 that they proclaimed their innocence, but following the Pakistan Cricket Board's refusal to impart their own sanctions the ICC swiftly moved to impose their own provisional suspension.
Butt, Asif and Amir must now await the results of the full ICC investigation and, if found guilty, could be facing the prospect of lifetime-bans.
ICC code of conduct commissioner Michael Beloff announced the decision after a two-day hearing.
"Salman (Butt) and (Mohammad) Amir had appealed against the suspension imposed on them by the ICC on September 2 for various breaches of the code of conduct," he said.
"Having considered every aspect of the case I dismiss their appeals and they remain suspended."
Beloff said all three cricketers, including Asif, will have to appear before a ICC code of conduct commission, which he will announce in due course.
Commission
"The players have denied the charges, but they will remain suspended before a code of conduct commission is formed to hear the case," he added.
"It was not up to me to decide whether they committed any crime, the commission will establish their guilt and if they are found guilty then they will be given punishment as per the ICC code of conduct."
Pakistan Cricket Board legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi added: "The decision is within the ICC's jurisdiction but it will not affect the actual case which we hope will be heard soon."
The ICC statement said: "The chairman code of conduct commission heard the case in which players had challeneged the suspension under the ICC Anti-Corruption code. After considering all the evidence Mr. Beloff has rejected the challenges.
"As such, the players remain provisionally suspended from all cricket pending the outcome of the independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal which will hear their disciplinary case in due course.
"As Asif chose not to challenge his provisional suspension, he also remains suspended. The ICC will make no further comments."
Unhappy
The ICC code of conduct carries a minimum five-year punishment if corruption charges are proved. The maximum punishment is a life-time ban.
Salman Butt's lawyer Ranjha told reporters: "The decision has left us unhappy. The hearing was fair and thorough, and now we have 40 days to fight the disciplinary case and we will decide our course of action."
