The dangers of trial-by-media
Before the sting that allegedly exposed three Pakistan players for spot-fixing, the News of the World carried out a sting on then world snooker champion John Higgins that appeared to catch him accepting money to fix the results of specific frames
Tariq Engineer
25-Feb-2013
Before the sting that allegedly exposed three Pakistan players for spot-fixing, the News of the World carried out a sting on then world snooker champion John Higgins that appeared to catch him accepting money to fix the results of specific frames. Snooker’s governing body, however, found Higgins innocent. The case makes clear the dangers of trial-by-media. Innocent until proven guilty is a fundamental principle of justice. Passing judgement on the three Pakistan players in the eye of the spot-fixing scandal is therefore best left until all investigations are complete, writes Jonathan Howcroft in the Back Page Lead
It is clear that both snooker and cricket (and presumably all other sports at some level) have problems with spot-fixing and match-fixing. If there was no problem, neither of the News of the World’s stings could have been executed to such an extent. However, if the purpose of these investigations is to uphold sporting integrity, judgement should be left until the allegations have been conclusively proven. The line between an investigation in the public interest and circulation-boosting entrapment is fine and the Higgins case shows how damaging it can be if the public is cast as judge and jury before time.
Let us hope ongoing and future allegations of sporting misdemeanours can be judged soberly by those professionally charged with doing so. If these are brought to light by investigative journalism, praise should be lavished on the investigation at the conclusion of a fair trial. Until then, however shameful the circumstantial evidence and sensational headlines appear, the presumption of innocence deserves to rule.
Tariq Engineer is a former senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo