South Africa bans Bodi for 20 years for match-fixing

PRETORIA (Reuters) – Former South Africa international Gulam Bodi has been banned from all cricket-related activities for 20 years after admitting he attempted to fix matches in the country’s domestic Twenty20 competition this season.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced the punishment on Monday following an investigation conducted by the organisation’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.

Five years have been suspended on condition that Bodi is not found guilty of a similar offence and that he participates in corruption-related player education programmes.

“Our attitude to corruption will always be one of zero tolerance,” CSA chief executive officer Haroon Lorgat told a news conference.

“There is no doubt that Mr Bodi’s actions have threatened the integrity and image of the game that we love and he must be handed a strong punishment. We have had many discussions with Mr Bodi and he accepts the folly of his actions.

“We are fortunate in this instance that several players rejected his approaches.”

Cricket has been hit by several separate incidents of match-fixing in recent years.

Lorgat did not reveal if any players were being investigated for their potential roles in the saga, but CSA did confirm “certain aspects of the investigation are on-going”.

Bodi, who was born in India and moved to South Africa as a teenager, played two one-day internationals and one Twenty20 match for the national side in 2007.

(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond)