Sport Industry Group

HIGGINS CLEARED OF MATCH-FIXING BUT FINED- 9 Sep 2010 00:00:00

Snooker player John Higgins has been cleared of match-fixing but has been banned for six months and fined £75,000 for breaching snooker rules around betting.



Higgins has been suspended since May after the News of the World alleged he and his manager Pat Mooney had agreed to lose frames in four matches in return for £261,000.



Higgins and Rooney said that he should have reported the matter of a meeting surrounding the fixing in Kiev to World Snooker - but claimed that he felt intimidated and would have gone along with anything in order to get home.



World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn reacted immediately to the claims and suspended Higgins whilst also vowing to rid the sport of any wrongdoing.



Higgins denied the match-fixing charges but admitted: ‘intentionally giving the impression to others that they were agreeing to act in breach of the betting rules.’ 



Mooney however, was ruled to have placed Higgins in a ‘highly invidious position’ and has been banned from any involvement in snooker for life.