Hair offers $500,000 to quit

Malcome Speed the Chief Executive of ICC while addressing a press conference has said that Darrell Hair maybe offered $500,000 to quit as an umpire.

Speed told reporters that he had received a copy of a letter from Hair to Doug Cowie, the ICC’s umpire manager, on Tuesday in which he asked for “a one-off payment to compensate for the loss of future earnings and retainer payments over the next four years, which I believe would have been the best years I have to offer ICC and world umpiring.”

Speed was keen to point out that Hair was under great stress when he wrote these letters. “Darrell had no dishonest, underhand or malicious intent. He was seeking a solution,” he explained. However, he added that after receiving the letter he had consulted a number of lawyers independently.

In his letter, which was released to the media, Hair said: ” I am prepared to retire/stand down/relinquish my position on the elite panel to take effect from August 31 2006. This payment is to be the sum of $500,000 details of which must be kept confidential by both parties. This sum to be paid directly into my account by August 31, 2006. ICC may announce the retirement in anyway they wish but I would prefer a simple “lifestyle choice” as this was the very reason I moved from Australia to settle in the UK three years ago.

“This offer in no way precludes me taking legal action and/or instigating libel suits against various sections of the electronic and print media for comments made either previously or in the future.” – Cricinfo

I’m stunned, if Hair wants to negotiate a deal and prepare a sweet exit strategy for himself, then I suspect he could be guilty and needs to be held accountable for the mess that he created of the 4th and final test between Eng & Pakistan, offering him a handsome half a million dollars is not what should be his retirement package he needs to be tried and “if found guilty” sentenced to expulsion without compensation.
_{Credit for the story Omar Qureshi}