Isabelle Westbury is a freelance journalist who writes for the SII. Her focus is on politics and sport, especially cricket. She has written for a number of publications including The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, The Daily Mail and The Sun, and broadcasts on cricket for the BBC. She has an undergraduate degree from Oxford University, where she was President of the Oxford Union, as well as a postgraduate degree in law. She is also Middlesex CCC women’s cricket captain.
All posts by Isabelle Westbury
Police in New South Wales, Australia, are investigating allegations of match-fixing in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph reports. The investigation reportedly concerns two games in 2015 involving Manly Sea Eagles – one against South Sydney Rabbitohs and the other against Parramatta Eels. All three...
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has issued a statement confirming that eight Russian athletes have returned positive tests for banned substances following the re-testing of samples from the London 2012 Olympics. Last week the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that 23 of the 265 London 2012 samples re-tested returned...
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) today welcomed the news from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that reanalysis of the “A” samples from 23 athletes in five sports and from six National Olympic Committees (NOCs) who competed at the Olympic Games London 2012 has returned Adverse Analytical Findings (AAFs). In total, 265 selected...
• Brazilian authorities have expanded a probe into possible corruption at the 2016 Rio Olympics to cover ‘venues and services financed with federal funds’, Reuters reports. According to the news agency, federal prosecutor Leandro Mitidieri has said that investigations previously focused around legacy projects will now include ‘contracts for...
• French professional tennis player Constant Lestienne has had his French Open wildcard revoked after ‘he was placed under a corruption investigation’. According to AFP, organisers of Roland Garros said that Lestienne is under investigation by the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) for what the French Tennis Federation (FFT) understood...
The news agency Reuters has reported that members of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Bidding Committee have said that payments to Papa Massata Diack, son of former International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Lamine Diack, were ‘legitimate consultant’s fees’. According to Reuters, the statement by Bidding Committee ex-president Tsunekazu Takeda and ex-director...
Sri Lankan international cricketer Kusal Perera has had his provisional suspension lifted with immediate effect after the International Cricket Council (ICC) withdrew all disciplinary charges yesterday. The turnaround comes after the WADA-accredited laboratory in Qatar withdrew its original Adverse Analytical Finding after further investigations found that the cause of...
On the day of an independent review commissioned by Cricket Australia into the death of international batsman Phillip Hughes, an investigation by The Sports Integrity Initiative has learnt that the governing body of cricket in South Africa will introduce a concussion substitute policy into its domestic first-class competition. Earlier...
This morning the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found that the six-year suspension imposed on Michel Platini by FIFA was too severe and should be reduced to four years, despite also being ‘not convinced by the legitimacy’ of a CHF 2,000,000 (€1,800,00) payment from FIFA. Since the announcement of this decision, FIFA,...
Governance The Adjudicatory Chamber of FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee has banned Sergio Jadue and Luis Bedoya for life from ‘all football-related activities’. Jadue is a former President of the Chilean FA and Bedoya is a former FIFA Executive Committee member and President of the Colombian FA. Both officials had...
• Eric Pickles, the UK Government Anti-Corruption ‘Champion’, has reportedly said that sports bodies, including FIFA and UEFA, would in the future have to sign a joint statement ‘pledging to fighting corruption in sport’. Pickles’ comments come after UK Prime Minister David Cameron proposed a global anti-corruption agency in...
• The United States’ National Football League (NFL) and NFL Players’ Association (NFLPA) have warned its players that eating too much meat while abroad, specifically in China and Mexico, may result in a positive drugs test. The statement warned players that some meat in these countries might be contaminated...
• Two Polish weightlifters have tested positive for the use of human growth hormone (HGH). In a statement, the Polish Commission Against Doping in Sport, said that the organisation had started an investigation into the findings and was currently waiting a decision from the athletes on whether they wanted...
The French financial prosecution service has searched the headquarters of the French Tennis Federation, as well as the home of its President, Jean Gachassin. Last night French newspaper Le Monde, alongside AFP, reported that the search was part of an investigation into property embezzlement and ‘influence trafficking’ launched on...
