Shame on snooker as life bans handed down in one of sport's biggest match-fixing scandals

Li Han (pictured) and Liang Wenbo each have to pay £43,000. Credit: Getty Images/VCG

Liang Wenbo and Li Hang were banned for life, and eight other Chinese players were suspended following one of the biggest match-fixing scandals in sports history.

Liang and Li were found to have agreed or engaged in match-fixing the previous year, and after also being accused of pressuring other Chinese players, were each ordered to pay £43,000 in compensation and told they would never will no longer be able to participate in organized events. snooker's governing body, the WPBSA.

It was also reported that the two players «asked, encouraged, lured, persuaded, encouraged or assisted the players» to schedule nine and seven matches respectively and attempted to cover their increased involvement by deleting posts from mobile phone.

Liang, who reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 World Cup and won the 2016 English Open, was also found to have threatened another player and did not cooperate with the governing body's investigation.

The disciplinary commission described Liang's behavior. as «especially shameful» and said that he put pressure on a large number of young and impressionable Chinese players, preventing them from «without hesitation» to end their professional careers.

Similarly, they stated that Li's behavior was «completely unacceptable» and that he «used his influence as an older and established player to befriend younger, impressionable Chinese players who were far from home.»

All players have until June 20 to appeal the findings and decisions of the disciplinary commission that followed the investigation and hearings on sports resolutions in April and May.

Suspensions also apply to Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong, who are only 23 and 26 respectively, who have both won triple crown tournaments in the past and ranked among the top 16 in the world.

Yang was suspended for more than seven years, but after an early confession and a guilty plea, the sentence was reduced to five years. He admitted that he ordered one match in 2016 and then three more matches between March and September last year.

«Zhao's suspension was also reduced following an early confession and guilty plea to one year and eight months. after he admitted that last March he was «a match with another player who agreed on two snooker matches».

Lu Ning, who was found to have agreed four matches between 2014 and 2022, was suspended for more than five years, while Zhao Jianbo, Chang Bingyu, Bai Lanning, Chen Zifan and Zhang Jiankang were suspended for a period of two to five years. /p>

“It was a very difficult case,” said Jason Ferguson, chairman of the WPBSA. “It was heartbreaking to see some young talented players break the WPBSA Rules of Conduct due to pressure from two older players. This behavior has been declared completely unacceptable by imposing two lifetime bans from participating in recognized snooker in any form.”

“Those who try to corrupt the sport are constantly trying to find new ways to escape our control. processes. If any player is involved in rigging a snooker match, they will be caught and severely punished.»

Ferguson also stressed that the commission found «no evidence of a broader culture of wrongdoing in snooker.» . The investigation follows reports of suspicious betting by the International Betting Integrity Association.