• Harin to wield axe on fake news hounds

Legal action will be instituted under the Provisions of the newly enacted Online Safety Act (OSA) against those who circulate rumours pertaining to the Lanka Premier League (LPL) on various social media platforms, Minister of Sports Harin Fernando recently warned.

Addressing a news conference over the weekend the Minister said that the social media accounts of those spreading fake news will be suspended forthwith, if found guilty of violating the Provisions of the Sections stipulated in the OSA.

He made these comments in response to remarks made via social media sites over the arrest of the owner of the Dambulla Thunders’ franchise Tamim Rahman, on match-fixing charges, the day following the LPL Player Auction held in Colombo on 21 May.

The suspect, a Bangladesh national holding a British passport, was then produced in Court and was remanded till 31 May by Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawela. 

Minister Fernando had presided over the drafting of the Sports Law against betting and match-fixing during his previous stint as the subject Minister and he maintained that the law enacted then has paved the way for players to press match-fixing charges whenever they are approached.

He added that a special investigative unit has also been formed via the Ministry to probe such complaints while noting that the Police have also been vested with the requisite powers under the law to arrest suspects who are accused of such activities, produce them in Court and remand.

Fernando said that Sri Lanka is the only South Asian country to have criminalised betting, match-fixing and similar offences connected to cricket.

He also vowed that anyone found guilty of flouting Provisions of the Sports Law or the OSA, will be punished accordingly as he said “spreading of bogus news has to be curtailed come what may.”

The Minister known to be a close confidante of the President said that certain people without grasping the facts had levelled spurious allegations targeting him and ex-Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya.

Shooting the messenger

Contrary to what the Minister has vowed, speculation has been rife in local cricketing circles that managers of certain players had reigned supreme during last week’s LPL Player Auction.

It has been reported that player managers have struck lucrative deals with team owners ahead of the auction to have their players bought.

A glaring example had been one of the country’s dynamic batter in white-ball cricket Pathum Nissanka, who went unsold in the first round with his base price of US dollars ($) 40,000, being ultimately bought for that amount in the second round.

Another leading Sri Lanka batter in the format, Kusal Janith Perera, eventually could not even locate a buyer but this is in stark contrast to players who had paid commissions to owners to make it to the squads and in return rake in sums exceeding $ 100,000. 

If circulation of such information via social media is deemed to be in violation of the Provisions of the OSA, the Minister will need to inquire in-depth into the aforementioned alleged activities described as a huge racket by those in the know.

Hence the onus is on the Minister to reveal the truth to the people on this shady business rather than striving to wield the axe willy-nilly on the whistleblowers.