What
is Thilanga's position?
Neville de Silva reporting from London
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has spoken to the President
of Sri Lanka Cricket Thilanga Sumathipala about certain allegations
made against him. The ICC said that Mr Sumathipala "has maintained
his innocence of the charges."
"It
should also be noted that he has elected not to attend the next
meeting of the ICC Executive Board in March and we understand that
he will not be seeking re-election in March," ICC's General
Manager Corporate Affairs, Brendon McClements told the Sunday Times.
The
ICC spokesman said that the organisation had previously indicated
that its Ethics Officer, Oliver Stocken "is currently considering
the bookmaking allegations made against the President of Sri Lanka
Cricket in relation to the written undertakings given by him to
the ICC when he signed the Code of Ethics."
The
ICC is concerned with recent developments in the administration
of cricket in Sri Lanka. But the issues facing Sri Lanka are domestic
issues that need to be looked into by those involved in the game
in Sri Lanka, the ICC said.
The
ICC as the body responsible for the international administration
of the game does not and should not get involved in country-specific
issues. However the ICC has in place a Code of Ethics for all directors
and staff which deals with the conduct of ICC directors.
It
would also be open to the ICC Board to consider if a director who
is convicted of a serious offence should remain as a director of
the ICC and to remove him if appropriate.
Asked
what action the ICC is empowered to take in a situation where allegations
are made, Mr McClements said an investigation would be carried out
by the ICC Ethics Officer into an alleged breach of the code by
a director. The findings would then be referred to the Board for
action.
In
the meantime the ICC is investigating the issue of a large sum of
money found in a hotel room once occupied by Marvan Atapattu but
discovered some days after he had left. "There is an investigation
underway by the ICC's Anti Corruption and Security Unit into this
issue. The ACSU is independent of any board or the ICC management.
The investigation is being carried out as quickly as possible but
I am not going to put a time frame on it at present," Brendon
McClements said. |