A British "pitchsider" prohibited from attending matches operated by Cricket Australia "has threatened to take legal action against the governing body as he seeks to overturn the ban," according to Andrew Wu of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD.
Rajeen Mulchandani, 30, was on Monday convicted and fined a total of A$1,200 ($980) after "pleading guilty to trespassing offences that led to his ejection from three Big Bash League matches in December."
Mulchandani "is suspected by police of placing illegal bets with an unknown overseas betting website on live play." Mulchandani, however, "denied the bets were illegal." Magistrate Erin Kennedy "found Mulchandani had 'blatantly' ignored the six-month ban slapped on him by ANZ Stadium." Kennedy: "It's a pretty simple thing to be told you can't come in. If you want to dispute that there are mechanisms at law that you can do that rather than simply blatantly ignoring what you've been advised." Pitchsiding "is a term given to the practice in which a spectator attending a game live takes advantage of the slight television delay, usually several seconds, to place in-play bets" (SMH, 1/20).
