Middlesex. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
English county Middlesex have garnered attention for all the wrong reasons as the club is charged with allegations of misconduct against its chief financial officer, Illa Sharma. After several issues were highlighted, a Cricket Regulator was formed to look into the matter, and the club was charged with a breach of ECB (England and Wales Board) directive 3.3, which pertains to conduct which is improper or which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket.
The employee who was involved in the matter has not been named and the club has acknowledged that Sharma’s role is under investigation. As things started catching up, the Regulator interviewed over 30 current and former employees to gauge the situation and come to a conclusion. After an investigation, the Regulator affirmed the charges to be levied based on misconduct and whose name will not be revealed as of now.
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“ECB Directive 3.3 concerns conduct, acts or omissions which are improper, or which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket, or which may bring the ECB or the game of cricket into disrepute. The charge will be considered in due course by the independent Cricket Discipline Commission. No further comment will be made until the case is concluded,” said Regulator as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Middlesex embroiled amidst controversies
This is not the first time Middlesex has hit the headlines for reasons about not cricket solely. Previously, former CEO, Richard Goatley was involved in a beef with the club over the shortage of funds worth 500,000 pounds in the club’s accounts. Moreover, the club even saw a loss of 952,000 pounds for the year 2021-22.
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“We have agreements in place with all our county cricket clubs and county cricket boards to ensure that ECB funding is used appropriately and for the purposes in which it is intended. Where breaches of our Regulations and Agreements take place, it is right that we take appropriate action,” said the Chief Executive of the ECB, Richard Gould.