Snooker match-fixing scandal: All you may want to know about players’ punishments

In a match-fixing scandal, 10 snooker players have faced the music. While Li Hang and Liang Wenbo have been banned for life, the other eight, which include Zhang Jiankang, Chen Zifan, Zhao Xintong, Chang Bingyu, Zhao Jianbo, Bai Langning, Lu Ning and Yan Bingtao, have been given varied suspensions.

Hang and Wenbo, who were also the ringleaders for the match-fixing group, will never be allowed to play professional snooker again. The duo will also have to pay £43,000 in costs.

Although the players were named and suspended at the start of the year, the punishments for the culprits have been announced by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) Disciplinary Commission.


Jason Ferguson, Chairman, WPBSA, said, “This has been a very complex case. It has been heartbreaking to see some young talented players fall foul of the WPBSA Conduct Regulations through pressure exerted by two senior players.”

“This behaviour has been recognised as wholly unacceptable by the imposition of two-lifetime bans from participating in recognised snooker in any way. Those who try to corrupt sport are constantly trying to find new ways to avoid our monitoring processes and this outcome must be taken as a lesson to those who think they can avoid detection,” Ferguson added.

“If any player is involved in fixing a snooker match, they will be caught and will face severe penalties. I am pleased that the Commission found that they did not see from the present case 'any evidence of a wider culture of wrongdoing in snooker',” he concluded.

FAQs

1. Who has been banned due to the match fixing scandal in snooker?
   Liang Wenbo and Li Hang are banned for life for their involvement in a matching fixing scandal.
2. Who is the chairperson of World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA)?
   Jason Ferguson is currently the chairperson of WPBSA.