‘Innocent’ Higgins set to learn fate

JOHN HIGGINS is set to learn his fate today as the two-day tribunal to determine whether he conspired to fix matches comes to a close.

Former world number one Higgins yesterday spent around nine hours defending himself against those allegations on day one of the hearing in central London.

The 35-year-old’s agent this morning reiterated his client’s innocence, saying: “John Higgins is 100% innocent of any aspect of match-fixing.”

Further evidence may be presented today, after which a judgment is expected that could save or destroy Higgins’ career. The current hearing represents the final stage of the three-time world champion’s quest to clear his name following a News of the World investigation which resulted in him being accused of agreeing to fix frames.

Higgins, who firmly denies the claims made against him, appeared yesterday at the behind-closed-doors tribunal, which was organised by Sport Resolutions, a London-based independent dispute resolution service.

Higgins has been suspended by World Snooker since the sport was rocked by the allegations on May 2 – the first day of the World Championship final.

He is eager to clear his name and get back to playing, and it is expected that an independent panel, headed by Ian Mill QC, will announce their verdict today.

This would be delivered verbally to World Snooker and Higgins before being made public.

However, the panel could still take two to three days before announcing their initial findings, and should the case prove sufficiently complicated, they have the option of taking three to four weeks before delivering a full written verdict.

Higgins insisted at the time of the allegations coming to light that he and his manager Pat Mooney had feared they were in the company of “Russian mafia” when they travelled to Kiev and decided “to play along with these guys and get out of Ukraine”.

Higgins was expected to be asked why, if he had encountered such a situation, he did not report it to World Snooker.

If Higgins is cleared, he will be free to resume his playing career with immediate effect, and could make his comeback at the World Open in Glasgow, which begins on September 18.

Should the hearing find against him, however, Higgins would face a long ban from the sport, although a lifetime suspension appears out of the question, on the basis of recent remarks from World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn.