Jason Ferguson has dismissed the idea of lifetime bans for match-fixers (Picture: Getty Images)
Snooker’s match-fixing investigation is close to an end, says WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson, who explains that lifetime bans for anyone found guilty are very unlikely.
Eight players are currently suspended from the World Snooker Tour due to allegations of ‘manipulating the outcome of matches for betting purposes’.
Chen Zifan was the latest to be suspended just before Christmas, joining Yan Bingtao, Liang Wenbo, Lu Ning, Li Hang, Zhao Jianbo, Bai Langning and Chang Bingyu in being barred from events.
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association chairman explains that there is no limit in how long the players can be suspended for, but he is pushing for the investigation to be completed as rapidly as possible.
‘It’s progressing quickly, we were already quite a long way down the road before I had to take the decision to suspend a number of players. Watch this space, we’re moving it on as quickly as possible,’ Ferguson told Metro.co.uk.
‘There is no limit on time for suspensions, but there are limits in terms of fairness to the players themselves and to the sport. We want to move this on very, very quickly.
‘We’re pushing as hard as we can because this type of thing is very damaging and we have to prove to the public that it’s dealt with, that we can take swift action.’
Yan Bingtao is the highest profile of the suspended players (Picture: Getty Images)
Clearly Ferguson could not give details of specific cases, but did suggest that the players are not all being investigated for the same alleged offences.
‘As it says in the statements, the suspensions are an investigation into the manipulation of results,’ he said. ‘That isn’t to say that everyone who’s been suspended is guilty of match-fixing, that’s certainly not what it says.
‘We will thoroughly go through everything and I’m sure it will all come out in the public domain. I’ll get the result from the independent hearing and at that point we will publish.
‘When we started this, we made a number of initial suspensions, we weren’t expecting that things would go further, but you can never say never. Let’s just hope that we’re at the bottom of this, and I will say, if we’re not at the bottom of it, we’re very near. We’re close to resolving all matters.’
Former world champion Shaun Murphy called for any player found guilty of match-fixing to be banned from the sport for life.
‘I think anyone guilty of match-fixing, their existence in the snooker world should be over,’ the Magician told Eurosport. ‘And if any of those players are found guilty, I hope we never see them again.’
However, Ferguson says lifetime bans are pretty much untenable, so, although there will be heavy punishments for those found guilty, it will not be a ban for life.
‘Life time bans do not stand up in law, quite frankly,’ he said. ‘I get Shaun’s statement and I understand why he’s so passionate about it, because I feel very strongly about it as well, especially as a former player. Every ball you pot must mean something. But we do know from legal advice that lifetime bans do not stack up in court. It’s completely challengeable.
‘We have in our rules that players may receive up to a lifetime ban, if found guilty of match-fixing or manipulating results, but there has to be a range. If you take, for example, a player who’s a serial match-fixer and just keeps doing it, that’s at the high level. But if you’ve got some young kid with a gun to his head or a gun to their family’s head and they’ve crossed the line once, is that the same as a serial fixer? These are the things that any responsible tribunal will take into account.’
In better news for snooker, China announced earlier this week that quarantines for travellers are coming to an end in January as they relax their strict Covid restrictions.
There has not been a WST event in China since 2019, which has been a huge blow to the professional game, but Ferguson says this is a step in the right direction to returning.
Judd Trump was the last player to win a WST event in China, at the 2019 World Open (Picture: Getty Images)
However, he urges caution, and it looks like next season is the realistic target to get back to China for tournaments.
‘It’s really exciting,’ he said. ‘Obviously we’ve been keeping close tabs on travel and government policies for international sport, but it’s really exciting to see some movements, We’re aware there’s been some outbreaks so we can’t just rush straight in. But I can tell you that we’re in contact with all our promoters in China, the demand is there for the events. We’re thoroughly excited about coming back.
‘We still believe there will be government meetings in March that will outline international sport policies. That’s what we were told in our last correspondents and we believe that’s still the case. We’re not diving in, but we’re planning and dates will start to be put aside. It’s great, I’m looking forward to getting back there. It’s a huge market for us and I love working there. Of course we miss it. The players miss the events, the earning opportunities, the opening ceremonies, they feel like stars at these events.
‘Realistically we are looking at next season. We’ve been holding potential dates in the calendar, but realistically it’s a next season project. That’s probably summer, maybe the end of summer. We have to monitor the situations with the outbreaks, there’s lots of complications to it over and above just basic travel in and out of the country. Flights are hard to come by at the moment, not so many airlines going in and out, so we need to see some improvement there. But hopefully we’ve turned a corner and things can look more positive.’
On the possibility of China not returning to the snooker calendar next season, he said: ‘Of course we’re always looking at contingency planning. You can put temporary events on to plug gaps in dates, or you can plan ahead to put events on in new territories and we’re looking at both options.’
With eight Chinese players currently suspended from World Snooker Tour events, it is not ideal for the image of the sport in their home country, but Ferguson insists it will not hamper a return to China when it is possible.
‘It’s obviously big news in China, it’s hit the headlines but likewise there’s a respect for the way we’re dealing with it,’ he said. ‘It’s a concern, but I think the authorities there can see we’re a very responsible sport and that’s what will carry us through on this.’
It’s good news that the inquiry is progressing, and it is certainly a good move by Jason Ferguson to keep the press and the fans in the loop.
A possible return of the Chinese events next season is certainly positive. At the moment there is a surge in covid cases in China, but that was to be expected. Immunity is built through exposure to the viruses or microbes. Long periods of isolation – like lockdowns – weaken the immune system because it is not stimulated. Measures in China have been very stringent for a long time and therefore their population is now left more vulnerable, not just to covid but to all viral agents. It will take some months for the situation to return to “normal”.
Lewis was right when, in a recent comment, he pointed out that a life ban may not be “legally” possible.
I highlighted some of Jason’s quotes by giving two paragraphs a different background.
There are some interesting nuances in his choice of words in the first: the inquiry is about “manipulation of results” rather than “match fixing”. But isn’t that the same thing? And if not, where is the difference? Of course, all the suspended players are presumably innocent until proven guilty.
In the second I find it interesting that he emphasised the difference between a “serial match fixer” – Stephen Lee was one – and “some young kid with a gun to his head or a gun to their family’s head“. Maybe I’m wrong but his choice of words suggests to me that some of the young players might have been seriously threatened. If this is indeed the case, WPBSA will have to think about ways to better protect their players, particularly the young ones who are separated from their families. Another question is what can they do against individuals who would be total “strangers” to the official circuits of the sport sport but would engage in this type of blackmail.
4 thoughts on “An Update By Jason Ferguson on the Match Manipulations Inquiry and China”
just one more thought if I may. if the investigation were to prove that there has been systemic match fixing going on with the Chinese players, why all the enthusiasm about going back to China? shouldn’t the tour stay away from China for a while in that case?
That’s a very difficult question Santino. Over the years China has invested a lot of money in snooker and provided a lot of earning opportunities for the players. I would say this: it all depends what will be uncovered and how much CBSA is ready to do to iron match fixing out of the game. They have suspended all players involved from their own events. That’s a start, but they have to be a lot more proactive than that to be credible indeed.
It’s possible ‘manipulation of results’ is just an official term for ‘match fixing’, which may run into ambiguities.
You shouldn’t take the ‘gun to his head’ comments too literally. At least let’s hope not. Jason Ferguson was just making the point that there are indeed circumstances where a player might break the rules, but for which a long ban cannot be justified. But of course we know that there have indeed been cases of shootings, houses burning down, etc.
I’m sure Shaun Murphy knows all of this, but he probably feels he has to do his bit to bolster the deterrent by making a hard-line statement, which will nodoubt gain him a lot of support on Twitter. But the likelihood is that we will never be told the full facts about all of this: WPBSA cannot conduct a criminal trial, and so releasing details of things like threats would expose them to litigation. They can hand over evidence to police, and charges may follow, but then that’s out of the hands of WPBSA. We just have to trust their inquiry, and accept their decisions regarding the players. What makes it difficult is that Liang Wenbo has announced his ‘retirement’ and won’t cooperate in any way.
As for events returning to China, yes I’m sure the CBSA, along with organisers and officials in China would absolutely welcome that. The problem is likely to be with sponsors, whose finances have been hit by covid (as everyone’s has), need some certainty about quarantine policy, and probably aren’t viewing snooker as such an attractive investment due to the match-fixing scandal. It’s also the case that many countries are reviewing their quarantine policies for people returning from China, which might ward a few people off.
Yes, alas we know that physical threats haven been made in the past, and followed up by actual arson and shooting. It was targeting Thai players and their family, but it can’t be ruled out for other nationalities either. Yes, Liang has announced his retirement, likely to escape punishment and exposure. But if, really, he has been using his social status, or worse, to intimidate players into fixing matches, he will likely continue to do so unless he can be sued in law. That’s bad news.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
just one more thought if I may. if the investigation were to prove that there has been systemic match fixing going on with the Chinese players, why all the enthusiasm about going back to China? shouldn’t the tour stay away from China for a while in that case?
That’s a very difficult question Santino. Over the years China has invested a lot of money in snooker and provided a lot of earning opportunities for the players. I would say this: it all depends what will be uncovered and how much CBSA is ready to do to iron match fixing out of the game. They have suspended all players involved from their own events. That’s a start, but they have to be a lot more proactive than that to be credible indeed.
It’s possible ‘manipulation of results’ is just an official term for ‘match fixing’, which may run into ambiguities.
You shouldn’t take the ‘gun to his head’ comments too literally. At least let’s hope not. Jason Ferguson was just making the point that there are indeed circumstances where a player might break the rules, but for which a long ban cannot be justified. But of course we know that there have indeed been cases of shootings, houses burning down, etc.
I’m sure Shaun Murphy knows all of this, but he probably feels he has to do his bit to bolster the deterrent by making a hard-line statement, which will nodoubt gain him a lot of support on Twitter. But the likelihood is that we will never be told the full facts about all of this: WPBSA cannot conduct a criminal trial, and so releasing details of things like threats would expose them to litigation. They can hand over evidence to police, and charges may follow, but then that’s out of the hands of WPBSA. We just have to trust their inquiry, and accept their decisions regarding the players. What makes it difficult is that Liang Wenbo has announced his ‘retirement’ and won’t cooperate in any way.
As for events returning to China, yes I’m sure the CBSA, along with organisers and officials in China would absolutely welcome that. The problem is likely to be with sponsors, whose finances have been hit by covid (as everyone’s has), need some certainty about quarantine policy, and probably aren’t viewing snooker as such an attractive investment due to the match-fixing scandal. It’s also the case that many countries are reviewing their quarantine policies for people returning from China, which might ward a few people off.
Yes, alas we know that physical threats haven been made in the past, and followed up by actual arson and shooting. It was targeting Thai players and their family, but it can’t be ruled out for other nationalities either. Yes, Liang has announced his retirement, likely to escape punishment and exposure. But if, really, he has been using his social status, or worse, to intimidate players into fixing matches, he will likely continue to do so unless he can be sued in law. That’s bad news.