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Ssb - the day(s) of reckoning for john higgins
John Higgins is expected to learn his fate this week following allegations in the News of the World last May that he agreed to lose frames for money in the now aborted World Series.
Higgins and his then manager, Pat Mooney, were caught in an undercover sting operation in the Ukraine.
The tribunal will be chaired by Ian Mill QC on behalf of Sports Resolutions UK, an independent body, at an undisclosed location in London.
Sports Resolutions can apparently take up to four weeks to reach a verdict in cases deemed to be complex but I understand World Snooker are expecting to learn of their findings tomorrow following the two-day hearing.
The charges Higgins is facing are unknown but are likely to include one or more of the following:
- Conspiracy to fix frames
- Failure to report an approach to fix frames
- The old catch-all 'bringing the game into disrepute'
It's unclear what action could be taken against Mooney given that he has now severed all ties with the snooker world.
If a punishment is handed down to Higgins it will be decided on by Sports Resolutions and not World Snooker, which is as it should be because accusations of bias could not then be levelled at the governing body.
This affair has hung over the game all summer. I'm sure the whole of snooker, not least Higgins himself, will be glad when it is finally settled - one way or the other.
Needless to say, when I know the result of the tribunal I will post it here.
More...
Higgins and his then manager, Pat Mooney, were caught in an undercover sting operation in the Ukraine.
The tribunal will be chaired by Ian Mill QC on behalf of Sports Resolutions UK, an independent body, at an undisclosed location in London.
Sports Resolutions can apparently take up to four weeks to reach a verdict in cases deemed to be complex but I understand World Snooker are expecting to learn of their findings tomorrow following the two-day hearing.
The charges Higgins is facing are unknown but are likely to include one or more of the following:
- Conspiracy to fix frames
- Failure to report an approach to fix frames
- The old catch-all 'bringing the game into disrepute'
It's unclear what action could be taken against Mooney given that he has now severed all ties with the snooker world.
If a punishment is handed down to Higgins it will be decided on by Sports Resolutions and not World Snooker, which is as it should be because accusations of bias could not then be levelled at the governing body.
This affair has hung over the game all summer. I'm sure the whole of snooker, not least Higgins himself, will be glad when it is finally settled - one way or the other.
Needless to say, when I know the result of the tribunal I will post it here.
More...