Lee may be hit with a life ban for match-fixing

Stephen Lee, pictured in 2010, could face a life ban. Picture: PA

Although the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association will not confirm Lee’s punishment until next Tuesday, WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson confirmed he faced “a significant sanction”.

It is the biggest case of match-fixing to hit the sport since Australian Quinten Hann was suspended for eight years in 2006 for breaking rules governing match-fixing.

Lee was charged following an investigation into eight matches – four at the Malta Cup in 2008, two at the UK Championship in 2008 and one each at the China Open and the World Championship in 2009.

He was suspended last October and an independent hearing was arranged by Sport Resolutions UK.

Adam Lewis QC was appointed to hear the case, which was heard in Bristol last week.

Lewis ruled: “Stephen Lee is found guilty of agreeing an arrangement…[and of]…accepting or receiving or offering to receive…payment or…other…benefit…in connection with influencing the outcome or conduct of each of the seven matches in breach of Rule 2.9.”

A WPBSA statement said: “The facts are that between February 2008 and April 2009, Stephen Lee was in contact with three different groups of people, all of whom placed bets on the outcomes of his matches or on the outcomes of frames within his matches or on the exact score of his matches.

“This took place in seven matches over four tournaments. The matches were Lee v (Neil) Robertson, Lee v (Marco) Fu and Lee v (Ken) Doherty in the Malta Cup 2008 where there was betting on the exact score and the match outcomes; Lee v (Stephen) Hendry and Lee v (Mark) King in the UK Championship 2008 where the betting was on the outcome of the first frame in each match; Lee v (Mark) Selby in the China Open where there was betting on the match outcome; Lee v (Ryan) Day in the World Championship where there were bets on match outcome and the exact score. In this match there was ‘in-match’ betting on the outcome of the frames in progress.

“The bets were placed by three groups of people. The first were organised by his then sponsor who opened multiple betting accounts with various associates. These accounts were used to place the bets. The second group were co-ordinated by his then manager who placed almost identical bets.

“The third was an individual known to Lee who placed the same bets independently of the other two groups.

“Lee was in contact with the groups in the lead-up to the matches in question and afterwards. In one case the person collected the successful bet and placed the half of the winnings into Lee’s wife’s bank account.

“The total amount bet on these matches was in excess of £111,000 leading to winnings of over £97,000 for the persons placing the bets. It is not clear how much Lee benefited from their activity or of his motivation to get involved in match-fixing.”

Ferguson added: “The WPBSA has a zero-tolerance approach to match-fixing.

“This particular case was extremely difficult and complicated to bring to a hearing. We believe we have established the world’s most sophisticated system in dealing with corruption in sport and we will take every step under the WPBSA rules to deal with those responsible.

“Stephen Lee was the number five player in the world and had the opportunity to be part of snooker’s great success story. His future participation in the sport is now in real doubt as he will face a significant sanction.”