da supremo： The contract dispute may have been resolved at the eleventh hour, but theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) faced fresh controversy on the openingday of the ICC Champions Trophy – the “car pass and complimentary ticketscandal”
CricInfo12-Sep-2002The contract dispute may have been resolved at the eleventh hour, but theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) faced fresh controversy on the openingday of the ICC Champions Trophy – the “car pass and complimentary ticketscandal”.When ICC officials opened the state-owned Daily News at breakfast thismorning, expecting the back pages to be filled with considered analysis onthe opening match, they were shocked to read a vitriolic attack one of theiremployees.Chris Tetley, in charge of the tournament’s logistics, stands accused of”damaging the high image of the ICC.” His crime? The refusal to grant carpasses and match tickets to high-ranking officials in the Sri Lanka cricketboard.During normal tours to Sri Lanka the distribution of match tickets andpasses is one of the perks of the job, but the ICC Champions is manageddirectly by the ICC. Tighter controls have apparently angered some localofficials.An unnamed former manager was seething: “This is a case of foreigners comingand telling us how many of us should come, where we should watch the matchfrom and where to park our vehicles. There is an element of a colonialhangover here.”A Sri Lankan player was also upset: “This is the only chance I get to playin front of my family, but sadly that chance too has now been stopped.”The journalist, normally a business writer, was requested to write the storyby senior management in the Daily News, the chairman of which is also amember of the interim committee running the affairs of the cricket board.The report notes indignantly: “The ICC issued eight car passes for theeleven members of the Board and the members were preparing last night todraw lots as to who will have the privilege to go by car for the openingceremony.”The ICC, their annoyance palpable, preferred to not pass comment after thearticles publication, keen for the media’s attention to finally focus on thecricket.But they did reveal that 342 match tickets were issued to the cricket board,120 to VIPs and 75 to the players for the opening game.