By Aakash Kumar
New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Streaming website FanCode and Dream 11 have come under scrutiny for their involvement in the fake T20 league being investigated by the Punjab police. While the match was streamed by FanCode, the players were seen sporting Dream 11 on their jerseys. While FanCode has stated that they have shared all the documents and details with the investigating authorities, Dream 11 has refrained from commenting citing unauthorised usage.
Apart from FanCode which broadcast the Uva T20 League as being held in Sri Lanka even though it was being played at a local club ground in Sawara village close to Mohali, the fact that the players were seen sporting Dream 11 jerseys has seen BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit ask the investigators to look into the role of Dream 11 – a fantasy sports platform and also a sponsor in the Indian Premier League.
“We have given an input to the investigators that these 7-8 points of investigation, they can provide some evidence,” BCCI ACU chief Ajit Singh told IANS.
“FanCode streamed it. It was in the media that they stopped streaming once Sri Lanka Cricket told them…If they have streamed it, somebody must have approached them. They would tell the police who approached them. Then some documentation for Sri Lankan authorisation must have been given to them.
“So, these were the points which we told the investigators to investigate. Because we have some domain knowledge of cricket betting and etc, we passed it on to them,” Singh further said.
A FanCode spokesperson told IANS in a statement that they were an “aggrieved party” and were ready to cooperate with “all investigating agencies working on the matter”.
“FanCode is an aggrieved party in this whole incident of Uva League, as it has transpired that the documents submitted by the organisers during our due diligence process were forged/fabricated.
“FanCode has filed a formal complaint with the Mumbai Police on July 6th, 2020 (4 days ago). The organisers had provided us with a Letter of Sanction from Uva Province Cricket Association along with an email from the official email id of SLC that provided confirmation of the authenticity of the tournament.
“After Day 1 of the tournament, where FanCode streamed two matches, the legal team of SLC reached out to us and informed us that the same matches are not approved by them. As soon as we received this intimation, we immediately stopped streaming these matches on our platform,” it added.
The streaming website further said that they are “closely working” with the Anti-Corruption Unit of SLC.
“All documents/evidence and details used to defraud us have been shared with the investigating authorities, including the Mumbai Police and the ACU.
“FanCode follows a strict process for shortlisting and screening potential league partnerships for live streaming of matches. Before streaming any tournament/league on our platform, we diligently check if the tournament is approved by a recognised sports authority/association,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, Dream 11 declined to share any response when asked for the same. They told IANS that it was a case of unauthorised usage and they have nothing to do with this. “Dream 11 will not be sharing any statement,” the platform said.
The Punjab police have arrested Ravinder Dandiwal, who is allegedly involved in the international tennis match-fixing scandal, alongwith two others in connection with the case. The Sri Lankan cricket board had already denied their involvement in the tournament.
–IANS
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