The trio were found guilty of corruption by an ICC tribunal
on Saturday and former Pakistan captain Butt, 26, was banned for 10 years, five
of them suspended.
Asif, 28, was banned for seven years with two suspended,
while 18-year-old Aamer was given a straight five-year ban.
"While I am deeply saddened that this case happened in
the first place, I acknowledge and commend the decision to deliver lengthy bans
to all three players," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in a
statement.
"Corruption in our game will never be tolerated and,
once again, I reiterate our zero-tolerance approach.
"I hope this investigation, and the verdicts delivered,
makes that message crystal-clear." A three-man tribunal considered the
case for six days last month following allegations in a British newspaper that
the trio had arranged for deliberate no balls to be delivered in the fourth
test at Lord's last year.
The start of the bans would be backdated to Sept. 2 to
include the period of provisional suspension already served by the players, the
ICC said.
The length of the punishment has divided the cricketing
world.
While some players and pundits believe teenager Aamer should
not have been treated so harshly as he was coerced into following the orders of
senior team mates, others felt the ICC should have taken a stronger stand and
imposed life bans.
Pakistan's sports minister Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani backed the
ICC's decisions but said he thought Aamer should have been treated more
leniently.
"We fully support the ICC decision and any steps taken
to root out corruption from sports," Jakhrani said in Karachi on Sunday.
"This decision...will go a long way to discouraging
players from adopting the short-cut to riches.
"My reservation stems from the fact that he (Aamer) is
just 18 years old and at such a young age you can make mistakes or come under
pressure. I think the ban is too harsh for him." As a result of a separate
investigation, Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charged the trio and
35-year-old sports agent Mazhar Majeed on Friday with conspiracy to obtain and
accept corrupt payments and with conspiracy to cheat.
"We are...aware of and fully respect the decision of
the United Kingdom's CPS to charge the players with criminal offenses in the UK
and, with that in mind, we will carefully review the full decision and take
proper legal advice before making any decision on publishing the reasoned
determination," Lorgat said.
All three players deny spot fixing, the offense of
pre-arranging individual events within a match which may not affect the result.
Butt and Aamer flew home to Pakistan on Sunday and pledged
to clear their names. Both players said they would appeal against the ICC bans
once the details of the judgment were released.
Pakistan's former test captain Wasim Akram, who was himself
censured by a judicial commission investigating match-fixing a decade ago, said
the players had to accept their punishment.
"It will be very difficult for them to live with this
stigma but they made mistakes and they must face the consequences," he
added.
"I
think it is responsibility of every board and their management to educate and
groom the players, especially those from humble backgrounds, about their better
future," the former fast bowler said.
