STEVEN MANN, Cape Town | Wednesday 3.15pm.
WELL-known Johannesburg lawyer Peter Soller on Wednesday confirmed that he had implicated cricket boss Ali Bacher in fixing a one-day international match between South Africa and a touring rebel West Indies side, but indicated he had been temporarily gagged from revealing the full story.
Soller said he had been told by the King commission, which is probing corruption in South African cricket, that he was “not allowed to talk”.
While the commission does not legally have the power to stop Stoller from talking, he claimed he did not want to anatagonise the Cape Town judiciary.
“There are a lot of facts that have not been published,” Soller said, adding that he relished the possibility of being called before the commission.
Soller has given the commission a sworn statement detailing his allegations.
Soller said he had negotiated a deal with the West Indies for a small additional payment to continue playing in the match in the presence of the late Atholl McKinnon, then media representative for the Windies. Soller said McKinnon had relayed details of the negotiations back to Bacher by radio.
“What happened after that match was a circus,” he said, adding that Bacher had not spoken to him since.
Bacher has strongly denied any involvement in match fixing.
John Bacon, the commission’s secretary said the allegations against Bacher would be investigated as a matter of urgency.