trust , '' the officer said . The Pakistanis were accused of spot fixing , which involves deliberately throwing parts of a game rather than the whole match . Prosecutors accused Butt and Asif of taking part in a betting scam , allegedly arranged by Mazhar Majeed , during a match between Pakistan and England played at the Lord 's cricket ground in London . The News of the World , the British tabloid that first reported the allegations , said players deliberately bowled `` no balls , '' or fouls , at specific points in the game and that the alleged ringleader made 150,000 pounds -LRB- about $ 230,000 -RRB- in the scam . The News of the World has since folded in an unrelated scandal . But Horne praised the newspaper 's work , saying it was `` unlikely '' the corruption would have been exposed without `` the good work of investigative journalism ; and as an investigator I acknowledge the skill involved in such work . '' Prosecutors used audio and video recordings the newspaper made secretly last year involving Majeed , a 36-year-old businessman from London . In one , Majeed is heard telling an
London -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Two top international cricket players from Pakistan were found guilty Tuesday of plotting to cheat and to take bribes in a major match against England last summer . Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif could potentially go to prison for up to seven years for the criminal offenses , part of a scandal that rocked the international sport . A third player , Mohammad Amir , pleaded guilty to the same charges . The court barred the press from reporting his plea until the jury reached their verdict on Butt and Asif , for fear of affecting the deliberations . They are due to be sentenced on Wednesday . `` This is a case of cheating , pure and simple , '' Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Superintendent Matthew Horne said in a statement after the verdict . `` The defendants , who are world-class cricketers , sought to cheat to enhance their substantial legitimate earnings . '' He said they had `` let down the cricketing world , their fans and the hardworking people that buy tickets to watch . '' `` They were role models to countless children around the world and have betrayed their