Image courtesy of: The Daily Mail
Pietersen received an undisclosed amount in damages
England batsman Kevin Pietersen has received substantial libel damages from optical services company Specsavers after they ran an advertisement which implied that the South African-born big-hitter had tampered with his bat during the recent Ashes series, which England won 3-0.
Specsavers suggested that Pietersen had tampered with his bat in order to fool the Hot Spot technology.
Although Pietersen did not attend the hearing at the High Court in London, his solicitor, Louise Prince, described the advertisement as a “serious and defamatory allegation”.
The Specsavers advertisement contained the slogan: “Bat tampering’ in the #Ashes? Apparently Hot Spot should’ve gone to Specsavers”, which featured beside a photo of Pietersen.
The advertisement made reference to Australian broadcaster Channel 9’s claims about Pietersen and a few other batsmen using silicone tape on the edges of their bats to deceive Hot Spot during the third Test in Manchester.
Prince noted that the advertisement was published on Specsavers’ Twitter and Facebook account, while also appearing in numerous magazines and newspapers.
Specsavers Optical Group Ltd issued an apology to Pietersen on October 2 and the company’s solicitor, Niri Shan, stated that it was not their intention to imply that Pietersen had cheated in any way whatsoever.