Sri Lanka's sports minister accuses top cricket administrators of corruption

SriLanka'ssports ministeron Saturday (Oct 28) accused the country's topcricket administrators of being "traitorous and corrupt", escalating a bitter row between the government and officials running the island's most popular sport. MinisterRoshan Fernando and the nationalcricketboard — the richest sporting body in the country — have been at loggerheads over corruption allegations for months.

The dispute could see the InternationalCricketCouncil (ICC) suspendSriLanka, which would deprive it of the opportunity to host international competitions. "The spirit of the game has been overwhelmed by a handful of people who are motivated only by money," said Fernando.

"I call the current conduct ofSriLankanCricketofficials shameless, traitorous, and unfaithful to thecricket-loving community of SriLanka." His comments came in a letter to the ICC, which has reportedly threatened to suspendSriLankaCricketover alleged political interference by theminister.

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A 260-page government audit highlighted widespread corruption inSriLanka's participation at last year's T20 World Cup in Australia. Theministerappointed a three-memberpanelto probe malpractice in thecricketadministration, which denied the allegations and refused to cooperate, pointing to the ICC rules on political meddling.

Fernando withdrew the inquiry.

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"The decision ofSriLankaCricketofficials to remain in their offices even after the government audit... is a clear display of the unethical and shameless attitude they carry," he said in his letter to the ICC, asking for its support to tackle corruption.

SriLankancrickethas been embroiled in multiple allegations of graft and match-fixing over the years, with the ICC itself penalising several players and officials. The country has not won thecricketWorld Cup since its sole victory in 1996, with Fernando blaming theboardfor the "deterioration" of standards since then.

Another cabinetminister, Prasanna Ranatunga, told parliament in August thatSriLanka's 1996 win turned out to be a "curse" in disguise and led to corruption. "The World Cup victory was the biggest curse for ourcricket," said Ranatunga, a younger brother of Arjuna Ranatunga, who skipperedSriLankato victory in 1996.

"Money started flowing to thecricketboardafter 1996 and with that came those who wanted to steal."

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