Snooker has been rocked by the news that former World No 5 Stephen Lee has been found guilty of match fixing. In addition, comments by Ronnie OSullivan on Twitter saying that players have heard of many more matches being fixed have also caused ructions.
No concrete evidence of match fixing in snooker But just like everyone one who works in an office they have a good idea who's shagging who
— Ronnie O'Sullivan (@ronnieo147) September 17, 2013
Last night Ger spoke to 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty about the controversy and where snooker can go from here.
"A lot of players were fearing the worst. I wasn't surprised to be honest," said Doherty of news that Lee was found guilty.
"He was under investigation for over a year from the police. But because they didn't go ahead with the prosecution, world snooker couldn't get a hold of all the evidence until the police had finished. They thought there was enough evidence there, particularly when there was money going in to his wife's account directly from the guys that he was in contact with, betting on the snooker. It was clear that he was in breach of snooker rules and he had to be found guilty."
Doherty then turned his attention to O'Sullivan's assertion that Lee's actions are not an isolated incident within the world of snooker.
"I think what happened has happened in the past. Some people have got away with it in the past, no doubt about it," said Doherty. "But I think since the John Higgins thing (Higgins was suspended in 2010 for failing to report an approach to breach betting rules following a tabloid sting) and since Stephen Lee, most people were flabbergasted. I mean Stephen Lee was No 5 in the world and earned something like £300,000 prize money in the space of 18 months. You wouldn't believe that a top professional who was at the height of his career and earning that type of money was still willing to cheat for the sake of £100,000. It doesn't bear significance to what the punishment of the crime may be.
Stephen Lee
"Why on earth would you want to do something like that? You might think it was someone down the end of the line who wasn't earning a penny that could be pressurised but not Stephen Lee. That's why they were flabbergasted and a lot of players are also flabbergasted by Ronnie O'Sullivan's comments. I think it has gone on in the past but not since the investigation into Stephen Lee and particularly after the John Higgins thing. All players were frightened to death of doing anything. I think Ronnie is wrong. I don't think anyone is throwing games in snooker at the moment."
©INPHO/James Crombie
