FICA refers Siva’s election to ICC ethics officer

The furore over Laxman Sivaramakrishnan’s appointment as a players representative in the ICC refuses to settle with the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) now referring the matter to the ICC ethics officer for an independent investigation.

‘FICA has tried all we can to get the ICC to refer this matter to the ethics officer themselves, however after more than six weeks of no action we are left with no choice but to refer the matter ourselves,’ said FICA executive chairman Paul Marsh.

The decision to refer the controversial captains’ vote to the ethics officer was taken at a FICA board meeting in London last week. ‘It is extremely concerning and disappointing that the governing body of our sport has refused to follow its own processes for dealing with allegations of unethical behaviour,’ Marsh said.

Sivaramakrishnan, backed by BCCI, beat May for the job resulting in a controversy as reports emerged that captains had overwhelmingly voted for May in the initial election before a re-poll was conducted to ensure the Indian’s appointment. ‘Sadly this is yet another example of poor governance. Instead of taking these allegations very seriously, ICC is ignoring the processes, hoping the matter will go away,’ Marsh stated.