John Higgins fined £75,000 and banned for six months but insists: I'm cleaner than clean

Published on Wednesday 8 September 2010 19:14

SCOTTISH snooker player John Higgins has been cleared of match fixing, but handed a six-month suspension from snooker and fined £75,000 for bringing the game into disrepute.

The three-time world snooker champion was suspended in May pending an investigation into allegations of frame-throwing which were made by the News of the World.

He admitted "intentionally giving the impression to others that they were agreeing to act in breach of the betting rules" and failing to report the matter promptly to the governing body, World Snooker.

However, the charges of "agreeing or offering" to accept bribes and "agreeing to engage in corrupt or fraudulent conduct" were dropped.

Higgins, 35, from Wishaw, and his manager Pat Mooney, who resigned from the board of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), were filmed allegedly agreeing to accept 261,000 in return for fixing the outcome of four frames in matches to be played later this year.

The match fixing charges against Mooney were also dropped and he too admitted the less serious charges.

Following a two-day hearing in London into the allegations, which finished yesterday, Higgins said in a statement: "I welcome today's judgment by Sport Resolutions and endorsed by the WPBSA following their exhaustive inquiry into the allegations against me by a tabloid news-paper.

"I am pleased that Sport Resolutions and WPBSA have concluded, after a thorough and fair investigation, that I was not guilty of any dishonesty and had no intention to fix a match and no intention to do anything corrupt."

He pledged to return to snooker a "stronger person" and added: "I accept the decision to suspend me for six months and impose a fine of 75,000.

"Those who run WPBSA have made it plain that if the sport is to advance it must be above reproach and those of us playing and involved in snooker must be cleaner than clean.

"Those who know me will appreciate that I have tried to encourage and advance snooker. I have tried to be an ambassador for the sport."He described the past few months as "traumatic" and said: "It has been made all the more hurtful by the knowledge that I never have, and never would, fix a snooker match.

"I have been sustained by the love and support of my wife, family and friends."

Higgins, suspended by the association on 2 May, will be banned from the game until midnight on 1 November.

He also has been ordered to pay a contribution to the costs of the hearing.

Higgins insisted in May that he was "100 per cent innocent", saying he believed the meeting with the journalists was to arrange a series of tournaments in Ukraine.

The summary of decision laid the blame for the predicament the Scot found himself in squarely at the door of Mooney, saying the manager had put the player in "a highly invidious position".

Explaining the reason for the withdrawal of the more serious charges against Mooney, it read: "The association maintained that Mr Mooney had in fact intended to act fraudulently and corruptly as alleged.

"However, a last-minute argument advanced on behalf of Mr Mooney by Mr Phillips, QC, based on a proper construction of the rules to which charges one and two refer had persuaded the association that it did not have sufficient prospects of proving those charges.

"Mr Higgins was put in a highly invidious position by Mr Mooney, who was entirely responsible for Mr Higgins' presence in Kiev and, in particular, at the meeting there on 30 April.

"Mr Higgins can be criticised for the way in which he chose to respond to the situation in which he found himself."

Following the case, the News of the World said: "This result is a victory for News of the World investigative journalism.

"Today's judgment is testament to the extraordinary work of our investigations editor, Mazher Mahmood."