By Elliott West
“A really bad day for snooker”.
Jimmy White
Introduction
Snooker has been cast under a dark shadow with the revelations that possibly seven snooker players have allegedly been embroiled in match-fixing. Liang Wenbo was the first to be suspended by the WPBSA in October, followed by Lu Ning, Li Hang, Zhao Jianbo, Bai Langning and Chang Bingyu and the latest being former Masters champion and ranked number 16 player, Yan Bingtao. Bingtao who was supposed to play at this week’s English Open at the Brentford Centre in Essex was interviewed when he arrived for the event and was quickly suspended after undisclosed evidence came to light. All seven players have also been suspended from the CBSA in China as well.
Yan Bingtao is the most shocking of the suspects, simply because he is so highly regarded by his fellow players. Praised for his dedication and work ethic to snooker, Yan has set up a home in Sheffield and joins a number of Chinese players who have followed in the footsteps of Ding Junhui to make England their second home. All credit to Yan, like Ding, who couldn’t speak English when they first started playing on the tour but are now able to converse freely in English.
Outside Forces
I have to agree with Judd Trump that some of the blame must lie with the people that are looking after these Chinese players when they spend most of their day in the various Sheffield snooker academies. They are vulnerable and isolated, they don’t know anyone and are millions of miles from home. Therefore they are easy prey for these predominantly Asian gambling gangs who will frankly do anything to make money. These gangs can be intimidating and violent and will do what they need to, to get their way.
That is no excuse for anyone getting involved in these crimes but it is a factor and should be remembered when an investigation takes place. I can list a number of players who have brought snooker into disrepute in the past with punishment ranging from lifetime bans to heavy penalties in the form of fines and temporary bans. We all know who these players are so I won’t trawl over old ground. The fact is they have been punished and some will always quibble over whether the action imposed was correct or harsh enough.
The Investigation
No one actually knows what the current allegations are and so it would be wrong to comment on any of the rumours flying around. I personally believe that any person is innocent until proven guilty. All we know is that there is something there for this investigation to take place in the first place and for seven snooker players to be suspended pending an inquiry. I commend Jason Ferguson and his team for nipping this in the bud early and bringing it to light in the public domain. You could see in his Eurosport interview at the start of the English Open that he was determined to put this matter to bed and I know that the WPBSA would have left no stone unturned whilst carrying out this investigation.
“Any player who thinks they can get away with it [match-fixing] is completely foolish”.
Jason Ferguson
This enquiry is ongoing and I am sure that a full report will come out in the new year. Anyone who falls foul and has been seen to breach any of the rules of conduct will be appropriately punished and a definite warning signal sent to anyone who is thinking of doing anything similar in the future. I would also cite the good track record that the disciplinary board has had in the last decade. There is no place for these malpractices in snooker or any sport; they are abhorrent and cast a dark cloud on the sport. Stamp it out and let’s move because snooker is in a good place and nothing will rock this steady ship that becomes more global year by year.
