The governing body of French cricket, France Cricket, reacted on the specialized site Cricbuzz to the France 24 investigation denouncing the existence of ghost matches and opaque management of subsidies from the International Cricket Council (ICC). This association describes these revelations as “false and unfounded”. The ICC is looking into the fraud denounced in the investigation.
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France Cricket denies it outright. The body organizing cricket in France denied, Thursday, November 9, to the specialized media Cricbuzz the revelations of France 24 published this week.
This investigation contains testimony according to which France Cricket lied about organizing matches in the women’s championship in order to recover financial aid from the International Cricket Council (ICC), which represented 60 to 70% of its budget in 2021.
Read alsoGhost matches, opaque finances: the controversial practices of the French Cricket Association
The president of France Cricket, Prebagarane Balane, reacted to the specialized media Cricbuzz by affirming that the revelations of France 24 were “absolutely false and unfounded”. “With the recent announcement that cricket would be included in the Olympics (Los Angeles in 2028, editor’s note), the timing couldn’t have been better.(…) They’re just trying to get attention “, said the president.
Contacted by France 24, France Cricket indicated that it was preparing a legal response and a right of reply. The association, which is not the subject of any legal proceedings to date, did not respond to multiple requests for interviews before the publication of the investigation.
Requested several times by France 24, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body of the sport, has not yet responded to our questions. She, however, told the Skysports channel that she was examining the accusations contained in the investigation. The body also explained to the British newspaper The Telegraph that it had not yet received from France Cricket the latest data on the practice of cricket in France (number of licensees, matches organized, etc.), without however specifying whether his anti-corruption unit had been seized.