John Higgins match fixing claims

Juwwi

l seen him winking to the camera during 1 of the frames in the davis match :eek:

l wonder was that the sign.

Columbia

Wow, absolutely shocking to say the least.

Desperately hope it doesn't detract from Davis's performance, but I sadly expect that it will.

Respected John Higgins an awful lot, but can't imagine he has any part left in the sport if this turns out to be true.

FortuneChip

He added: "The people who have been awarded MBEs have maybe gone downhill a little bit afterwards.
"I don't know if they think I'm going downhill but I hope I'm not. "I plan to be around quite a while longer."
From http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7163385.stm

Fail?

greeno

Shocked. Can't believe it would never have suspected him.

paul150

more worrying is the fact that pat mooney is on the board of the WPSBA, makes you wonder what other players have been involved in something similar and how far this thing goes in snooker

refusetolose

robbie1977 wrote: »

l seen him winking to the camera during 1 of the frames in the davis match :eek:

l wonder was that the sign.

doubt it , seeing as theres a few different cameras in the arena,he wouldnt know which one was being broadcast at any given time.........

dnme

3am watching Sky News papers review, headlines and sports heads on the red button. They are not touching the story yet, not even including the NOTW in the lineup.

Le King

Devastated. This is very bad for Snooker.

360ts

Stupid of him to even entertain the idea.


"Rule 2.8: A member shall not directly or indirectly solicit, attempt to solicit or accept any payment or any form of remuneration of benefit in exchange for influencing the outcome of any game of snooker or billiards."

the_syco

whatawaster wrote: »

"Astonishingly, the entire deal was set up and agreed with Higgins' agent Pat Mooney, a board memeber of the World Professional Snooker and Billiards Association and one of the sport's top four officials charged with POLICING the game."

Hrm... I wonder who set the deal up, then?

Soby

the_syco wrote: »

Hrm... I wonder who set the deal up, then?

You jsut highlighted it?..Or if you mean set it up from the other end it was undercover reporters

Reganio 2

tony1kenobi wrote: »

I'd only watch the snooker casually but am aware of the NoTW and their legendary stings......I don't remember any consequence of the John Terry Chelsea tours scandal.....or any other really....they print this muck and nothing ever happens......and realistically that video is very vague.........

I would not be surprised if Higgins got a big fat court pay off (donated to charity) along with a very tiny print apology....and then it is all forgotten.

I highly highly doubt it. The John Terry thing wasn't a "Scandal" it was rags being rags. I don't see how you can compare throwing a frame or a match to offering tours of the club?

Mr. Incognito

I'm heartbroken. He was one of my heroes.

The only man on the circuit Ronnie was afraid of.

ROTTING CHRIST

The whole thing smells like bs to me. The fact his manager would just meet with some random people (presumably if they were undercover reporters, he obviously didn't know them and never would have met them before) and then agree to fix matches for £300k and proceed to do so without even seeing a cent of the money? NOTW reporters definitely wouldn't have handed over cash, as that would then implicate them in the crime when it was exposed. It all just doesn't make sense, and looking at who's reporting it just makes me even more skeptical.

ROTTING CHRIST

EDIT - just watched the video, wow.. how wrong I was.. can't believe the stupidity of the pair of them. If you're gonna do something like this, at least don't get caught!

yermandan

So disappointed with this news, but hardly surprised.

I reckon stuff like this goes on ALL of the time with
the influence of sports betting on all sports and the
amount of money floating about.

Snooker is one of my favourite sports but I can see it
taking an even bigger slump in public interest after this.

Argh, so ****ing disappointing

fryup

TNOTW must have had prior knowledge of this carry on, puts previous Higgins matches under scrutiny e.g. Davis game last week. (poor ol'Steve)

i remember back in the 80s a south african player Francisco up to that sort of thing

ParkRunner

What an idiot! Surely he must have known reporters would do anything they can to get a video of him doing this!

Myrddin

I am seriously shocked, the man was the very epitome of a professional snooker player before this. An MBE for services to the sport, Im dumbfounded after reading this & wattching the video.

However I really doubt he threw the Davis match. Considering he was getting 300k to drop 4 frames over a whole year, can you imagine the price for throwing a complete crucilbe match/campaign? To meet his price for that, the syndicate would have had to earn SERIOUS money to make it worthwhile, and those kinds of betting pattern DO raise suspicion. And also, getting payouts of that magnitude, you would think he would know how to park off 300k.

He should be deeply ashamed today. I could never watch him with any enthusiasm again because you will just never trust any result from his games. Hearn has a tough job ahead of him, clearing up this mess & restoring a good public image. And the crucible campaign was SO enjoyable this year. Thanks John "Every man has his price" Higgins.

yermandan

I'm glad it's come out now so he'll have the shame of being
caught and the disappointment of not getting his greedy little
hands on that cash.

Shocking stuff

fred funk }{

I think is more damaging for snooker in general than it is for John Higgins. The sport is on its knees already and this will only further push away sponsor/viewers . This is the last thing Snooker needed.:(

zack01

I'm not going to make a comment on this until all the facts are out in the open.One thing is for sure the WSA and chairman Barry Hearn will act quick, they obviously have to hear Higgins's side of the story.

But i am in utter shock, i've known Higgins on a personal level for many years,attended his wedding, his mother and fathers b'day parties etc and never never would i have imagined this would happen, he is the ultimate professional and one of the nicest people you could meet, sadly from what i have heard today here in Sheffield there is some serious explaining to do.

Sadly and typical of a rag like the NOTW this has to break on the biggest day in the snooker calendar.:(

openviews

Deeply shocked and saddened for John and the game itself, his snooker career has to be over now and all because of this stupid mistake.

If one of the most successful players in the game is involved in this type of thing then the problem obviously must run alot deeper.

Why do I get the impression that the only reason they had John Higgins in the room was because he was the player that asked to speak to?

A sad day for snooker.:(

zack01

Not only that, his manager Pat Mooney is beside him and he holds a place on the WSA!

Heads will roll here, Hearn has made it no secret over the years he hates cheats etc.

Sadly this could be the end of John Higgins as a snooker player.

Silvio.Dante

Truely shocking news.

fatherbuzcagney

I think he has committed no wrong doing... He makes a living out of playing snooker and he just decided to do a little nixer on the side to make a few extra quid , The bookies get a little hit but they have the country ruined and also give **** odds and deserve to get punished.

gman2k

I reckon because of Higgins' fame and high profile in the game and the amount of shock this will generate, it will spell the end of a lot of corporate sponsorship for the game, and result in a loss of tournaments, much less snooker on the box etc.
It's inevitable, the fallout will be catastrophic.
Just look at the amount of money that left the golf game over the Woods scandal, sponsors will not want to be associated with such a dirty sport.
The fact that Mooney was involved and his role in the sport amplifies the issue to a huge extent.

openviews

If this was any other sport this matter would've been discussed late last night after the Dott/Selby match but again the reluctance of ex players to criticise current players has to be questioned.

I would be surprised if any player will come out and condemn John today, how many times are we going to hear "if this is true" or "well have to look at the evidence" during the final coverage.

The longer this is played out the more damage this is going to do to the game and sponsors may be reluctant if they think this goes deeper.

Myrddin

fatherbuzcagney wrote: »

I think he has committed no wrong doing... He makes a living out of playing snooker and he just decided to do a little nixer on the side to make a few extra quid , The bookies get a little hit but they have the country ruined and also give **** odds and deserve to get punished.

Whats the point watching a sport if the outcome has already been decided? Get a grip will you, cheats are the lowest of the low amongst professional sportsmen.

Fingers crossed Hearn can salvage the situation here, maybe its time for a complete cleanup not only of the sport but of the WSA board too.

Myrddin

openviews wrote: »

If this was any other sport this matter would've been discussed late last night after the Dott/Selby match but again the reluctance of ex players to criticise current players has to be questioned.

I would be surprised if any player will come out and condemn John today, how many times are we going to hear "if this is true" or "well have to look at the evidence" during the final coverage.

The longer this is played out the more damage this is going to do to the game and sponsors may be reluctant if they think this goes deeper.

Well the simple fact of it is nobody can really talk about this yet as its still only an accusation. Why would anybody involved wish to tarnish possibly the greatest player in the games history, BEFORE he is found guilty. Yes, he probably is guilty but until its proven dont expect to hear much about it through the coverage. And even after (if) its proven, the WSA will wish to distance themselves from it, meaning it will be acknowledged, but hushed along under the carpet.

openviews

Higgins set have his professional status suspended -

http://snookerscene.blogspot.com/2010/05/higgins-set-to-be-suspended.html

Pighead

Barry Hearn is on Talksport now talking about this fiasco if anybody is interested.
http://www.talksport.net/mediaplayer/media_player.asp?sListenLive=yes

Penisland

fatherbuzcagney wrote: »

I think he has committed no wrong doing... He makes a living out of playing snooker and he just decided to do a little nixer on the side to make a few extra quid , The bookies get a little hit but they have the country ruined and also give **** odds and deserve to get punished.

That is serious garbage! Disgruntled gambler?

Myrddin

openviews wrote: »

Higgins set have his professional status suspended -

http://snookerscene.blogspot.com/2010/05/higgins-set-to-be-suspended.html

Does that mean Ronnie is now ranked provisionally number 1 again?


Edit, that article has at the end

Hearn added that he is now considering his own position as chairman of the governing body.

- Holy sh1t, he would only jump ship if he feels the sport has been killed by this!

Pighead

Fair play to Hearn. He's coming across very well. No skirting around the issue and condemning both Higgins and Mooney unconditionally. Mooney has resigned and Higgins has been suspended from all future WPBSA tournaments with a full investigation from Scotland Yard to come.

Howjoe1

Pighead wrote: »

This is going to be front page news in tomorrows News of the World apparently. They claim to have recorded John Higgins agreeing to fix a match for money. If true this is an absolute disaster for the sport. To be honest Higgins is just about the last player I would have suspected of doing something liek this. Shocking news altogether.

http://twitter.com/davehendon

This does not surprise me one bit. Two seasons ago I had a bet on John Higgins to beat Steve Davies in a league match. He only needed to draw the game to qualify for the next round. My recollection is that Higgins went 4-0 up and my bet looked home and dry. He proceeded to lose the next 4 frames. Davies was playing woeful and missing sitters when set up, leaving balls hanging over pockets. Higgins proceeded to play a series of shots that were harder to miss in the last 3 frames to ensure the draw.

When the score was 4-2 for Higgins, the price for the draw on Betfair was something like 1/2. Very alarmimg and suspicious.

Needless to say the draw happened. I reported it to Betfair but got the usually reply, basically nothing they couls do. I have never backed on a game involving John Higgins since.

Penisland

Manager has resigned and Higgins suspended from all tournaments pending an investigation from scotland yard!

accrording to talksport!

fatherbuzcagney

EnterNow wrote: »

Whats the point watching a sport if the outcome has already been decided? Get a grip will you, cheats are the lowest of the low amongst professional sportsmen.

Fingers crossed Hearn can salvage the situation here, maybe its time for a complete cleanup not only of the sport but of the WSA board too.

if the out come of a sport has been decided and you don't know the result sure what difference does it make to you, you will get the same buzz out of watching it, its like watching a recorded match that you don't know the result off, you will still enjoy watching the recording when you don't know result but thousand of people around the globe will know who won.
he has cheated nobody only made a few quid from the bookies

zack01

If my calculations are correct Robertson will be number one if he wins the worlds and Higgins is suspended.

fatherbuzcagney

Penisland wrote: »

That is serious garbage! Disgruntled gambler?

sorry penislad , i not into gambling

Myrddin

fatherbuzcagney wrote: »

if the out come of a sport has been decided and you don't know the result sure what difference does it make to you, you will get the same buzz out of watching it, its like watching a recorded match that you don't know the result off, you will still enjoy watching the recording when you don't know result but thousand of people around the globe will know who won.
he has cheated nobody only made a few quid from the bookies

Call me pretentious, but for me, knowing a match was won fair and square is a LOT different to knowing who won but not sure if the result was fixed. If you didnt have 90 odd posts Id be reporting you for trolling here, as your comments are quite strange to say the least.

MagicMarker

This is some crazy ****!

Myrddin

zack01 wrote: »

If my calculations are correct Robertson will be number one if he wins the worlds and Higgins is suspended.

Oh yeah ha, I forgot about the point at stake for the final. Well wouldnt that be sweet for Neil, world champion & world number 1 I really hope Hearn can fix this.

Guy:Incognito

fatherbuzcagney wrote: »

if the out come of a sport has been decided and you don't know the result sure what difference does it make to you, you will get the same buzz out of watching it, its like watching a recorded match that you don't know the result off, you will still enjoy watching the recording when you don't know result but thousand of people around the globe will know who won.
he has cheated nobody only made a few quid from the bookies

Setting aside the ridiculousness of the rest of the situation, bu what about the punters that lose on it?

Then theres the people who are fans of the sport as a whole and the cheating players specifically.

Penisland

fatherbuzcagney wrote: »

sorry penislad , i not into gambling

I’m sorry so. You are just incredibly narrow minded then.

fatherbuzcagney

EnterNow wrote: »

Call me pretentious, but for me, knowing a match was won fair and square is a LOT different to knowing who won but not sure if the result was fixed. If you didnt have 90 odd posts Id be reporting you for trolling here, as your comments are quite strange to say the least.

everybody's views on whats fair and square in life are different and especially with regards to sport.

If you knew the outcome of a match or sport and the bookie was still giving you 100/1 on it would you have a bet or would you go to the counter and tell him to suspend them odds cause you knew the result?honest answer please!

fatherbuzcagney

Stekelly wrote: »

Setting aside the ridiculousness of the rest of the situation, bu what about the punters that lose on it?

Then theres the people who are fans of the sport as a whole and the cheating players specifically.

Being a fan of a sport and putting you weeks wages on it is where the problem is.

fatherbuzcagney

Penisland wrote: »

I’m sorry so. You are just incredibly narrow minded then.

sorry you think im narrow minded as i would think the opposite ,

Penn

fatherbuzcagney wrote: »

I think he has committed no wrong doing... He makes a living out of playing snooker and he just decided to do a little nixer on the side to make a few extra quid , The bookies get a little hit but they have the country ruined and also give **** odds and deserve to get punished.

Doing a nixer would be making personal appearances or playing in small tournaments. Throwing frames in a professional snooker match is not a nixer.

Also, the bookies have the country ruined? I'm pretty sure its the bankers, not the bookies.

Guy:Incognito

fatherbuzcagney wrote: »

Being a fan of a sport and putting you weeks wages on it is where the problem is.

Being cheated out of a €1 bet is no less being cheated than if the bet is for €500.