The Pakistan Cricket Board has called a beer advertisement in New Zealand unethical and disrespectful for making fun of the match-fixing scandal that Pakistani players were embroiled in last year. In a statement issued on Monday, the PCB accused the Moa Brewing Co of being "insensitive to the feelings of the Pakistani nation."
The company's ad features a statement signed by Kiwi allrounder Daryl Tuffey that reads: "Pakistanis love cricket and they love making money. Sometimes they combine the two with a good old Pakistani Match Fix so that the Black Caps get to win a game." The PCB said it has been told the campaign has since been withdrawn.
APP adds: The PCB said in a statement that when it contacted the New Zealand Cricket, it was told that the said advertisement was taken off air less than 24 hours of its launch. The statement said that it was unfortunate that the advertising company became insensitive to the feelings of the Pakistani nation while airing the ad which was not only unethical but also disrespectful.
However, after the assurance from New Zealand Cricket, the PCB is does not intend to pursue the matter any further, it added. It was pointed out in the commercial that Pakistan cricket had been knocked by match-fixing allegations and the trio Salman Butt, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Aamir were charged last year by the International Cricket Council for these allegations.
Meanwhile, a PCB official told APP that though the trio was charged for fixing but it did not mean that anybody had the right to shoot commercials on it. "You cannot blame the whole Pakistan cricket team for the wrongdoings of a few individuals," the official said. The commercial has also drawn a strong reaction from the Pakistani community in New Zealand.