John shoujld have chickened out of the Kiev deal. Now I fear he is about to get burnt.
The game of snooker is bigger than parasites like John Higgins.
It survived the Peter & Silvino Francisco betting scandals and will get through this.
Johnâs statement clearly explains everything. Very disappointing that people think that such a fine player and a gentleman would be involved in anything untoward. John obviously believed that the meeting was to discuss a legitimate business deal and itâs completely understandable that he feared for his safety when his âbusiness partnersâ turned out to be untrustworthy. I thought he handled the matter well in fact.
John Higgins: âMy conscience is 100% clearâ after bribery allegations⢠âI have never deliberately missed a shotâ says Higgins
John Higgins said he was âspookedâ by a conversation with undercover reporters he thought were âRussian mafiaâ. Photograph: Gareth Copley/PA
John Higgins has said his âconscience is 100% clearâ after he was implicated in a bribery scandal to fix the results of frames at future snooker tournaments.
Higgins issued a statement insisting that he has ânever been involved in any form of snooker match-fixingâ and that his âconscience is 100% clearâ.
âCan I say that I have never been involved in any form of snooker match-fixing. In my 18 years playing professional snooker I have never deliberately missed a shot, never mind intentionally lost a frame or a match,â he said in a statement read out on the BBC before the start of todayâs World Championship final.
"In all honesty I became very worried at the way the conversation developed in Kiev. When it was suggested that I throw frames in return for large sums of money, I was really spooked. I just wanted to get out of the hotel and on to the plane home.
"I didnât know if this was the Russian mafia or who we were dealing with. At that stage I felt the best course of action was just to play along with these guys and get out of Russia [sic].
âThose who know me are aware of my love for snooker and that I would never do anything to damage the integrity of the sport I love. My conscience is 100% clear.â
Higgins, the world No1, has been suspended from the professional snooker tour pending an investigation following allegations he had agreed to deliberately lose frames in tournaments in return for cash.
Higgins and his manager, Pat Mooney, were alleged by the News of the World to have agreed to accept âŹ300,000 (ÂŁ261,000) in return for arranging the outcome of four frames in matches to be played later this year during a meeting with the paperâs undercover reporters in Ukraineâs capital. There was no suggestion that Higgins had accepted any bribe in the past or that he had previously been involved in match-fixing.
The chairman of snookerâs governing body, Barry Hearn, said he was âabsolutely mortifiedâ following the allegations, adding that Higgins had been immediately suspended and an investigation launched. Mooney has resigned his position on the board of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.
With John Higgins shame hogging the headlines, its worth remembering there is a World Final on.
Neil Robertson ahead 9-7 overnight. Graeme did well to take two of the last 3 frames after losing 5 on the trot to go 8-5 down. Understandably he looked out on his feet after the draining exertions of last nights semin final against Mark Selby. All to play for still tomorrow.
Interesting to note that Pat Mooney who is seen on that video sitting beside John Higgins is also Graeme Dottâs manager.
Hearn spoke well there. More or less said that it doesnât look good for Higgins.
He also refused to slag off the NOTW style of entrapment placing the problem more at the door of the player who takes part in the match fixing.
There is more allegations to come out next week by all accounts as well.
Higgins to get a life time ban I would say.
The sport of snooker has been on its knees the last few years and this will kill it now IMO. There have been rumours about match-fixing for years. Looking in from the outside the sport looks as bent as a bulls horn and now that the clean-cut, family man John Higgins has been caught red handed this is it i think. If he is doing it then god help them.
Hearnâs an east London wide boy and heâs involved in the horrible cartel that is the PDC. I think Iâll wait to see how this one plays out for a while more before rushing to praise him and finding Higgins guilty.
I saw part of the video and Higgins looks very relaxed, almost smug. Very different to the picture he painted in his statement saying he was âspookedâ. Innocent til proven guilty. Given that thereâs no suggestion that he has actually thrown frames in the past, Iâd wonder if there are any legal ramifications of him getting a lifetime ban. Donât think
itâll finish snooker, thatâs pure sensationalism. Plenty of sports riddled with scandal.
snooker has being a victim of the house market bubble in this country with many snooker halls around the country being sold to developers and the like. Very few places a fella can play snooker nowadays. i use to play in jasonâs a bit but that is sadly gone. im sure the spawell is close now aswell.
Heard Spawell has gone too. Raphaelâs in Lucan shut down two years ago as well although the building is still standing. The smoking ban didnât help either.
thats hearns main problem. kids will only follow something that they can play. a lot of kids will be looking in on the world championship and want to play but there is no place near by. where is the next generation of young snooker players going to come from.
I blame Dott.
Was just reading there that Robertson took four and a half minutes after a Dott foul to decided whether to put him back in or not. Christ.
Itâs gonna be a late one. Dott beat him 13-12 in the quarters the year he won it.
I am sure that a staunch Presbyterian like Graeme Dott would have nothing to do with a vile taig activity such as gambling.
It was daft alright. Iâve backed Dott as I think Robertson has shown himself to be a bit fragile. Reckon Dottâs experience might see him through.
I backed Robertson early doors. Iâm not as confident as his odds suggest (but he was evens when I backed him). He certainly doesnât look as reliable.
I canât believe this hun loving scitzo is still in this match?
If Robbo ups it a gear at all heâll pull away? Should be 13-11 now anyway at least, I predict 18-13 as final score.
Anybody who wants to be in for work tomorrow shouldnât tune into this.