Higgins: My conscience is clear

John Higgins today insisted he would never fix a snooker match and declared his conscience was “100% clear” following the newspaper allegations that he agreed to throw frames in return for money.

Commenting for the first time since the allegations emerged in the News of the World, 34-year-old Higgins claimed he only said he would participate in the deal so he could get out of a potentially threatening situation.

He said in a statement read out on BBC2 prior to the World Championship final: “Can I say I have never been involved in any form of snooker match-fixing. In my 18 years playing professional snooker I have never deliberately missed a shot never mind intentionally lost a frame or a match.”

He explained: “Those who know me are aware of my love for snooker and that I would never do anything to damage the integrity of the sport I love. My conscience is 100% clear.”

Higgins, the sport's new world number one, was today suspended by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, and his manager Pat Mooney resigned from the WPBSA board.

Both men were secretly videoed by an undercover reporter who was posing as a businessman at a meeting which the News of the World say took place in the days following Higgins’ World Championship second-round defeat to Steve Davis.

“In all honesty I became very worried at the way the conversation developed in Kiev,” Higgins said in his statement.

“When it was suggested that I throw frames in return for large sums of money, I was really spooked, I just wanted to get out of the hotel and onto the plane home.

“I didn’t know if this was the Russian mafia or who we were dealing with. At that stage I felt the best course of action was just to play along with these guys and get out of Russia.”

Mooney, speaking on Sky News, said he and Higgins agreed to say they would go along with the plans, but only so they could make an exit from an uncomfortable situation.

Mooney said: “It just came to a head where we agreed, myself and John Higgins, to say whatever the hell we need to do to get out of here and get safely back on the flight.

“We had been intimidated for the best part of 24 hours.”

WPBSA chairman Barry Hearn, who took up his role last December and brought Mooney onto the board in January, briefly considered stepping down and walking away from the association before deciding that would be the wrong course of action.

He warned that any player guilty of fixing matches would receive “a very, very, very lengthy ban”.

Hearn told BBC2: “We want this matter dealt with as quickly as possible. It will be in days and weeks rather than months and months.

“I take the view that this is a very serious matter. It is a matter that affects the integrity of the sport potentially, therefore we have a responsibility not just to our snooker fans (but to) our broadcast partners, our sponsors, anyone who’s associated with the sport. This has to be dealt with quickly.”

New board member David Douglas, the former Metropolitan Police detective chief superintendent, will lead the WPBSA’s investigation into the allegations.

“It would be wrong of me to try to judge the length of bans,” Hearn said. “It falls outside my responsibility, this would come under David Douglas and the disciplinary panel. But clearly if allegations were founded you would be talking about a very, very, very lengthy ban.”

Hearn has grand plans for snooker which will be put to a vote in the coming weeks, and he has vowed not to let the allegations knock those off course.

But quitting the WPBSA did cross his mind.

“I have advisers who are advising me to do exactly that but my reaction is to stick with the ship,” he said.

“I think that players and fans must understand that under our leadership we won’t tolerate this kind of behaviour.

“Clearly it’s a body blow to my plans. I’m old enough to take that on the chin and move forward. But it is one of the most disappointing days I’ve had in 35 years of being in professional sport.”

Meanwhile, Steve Davis, who also sits on the WPBSA board, later told BBC Radio Five Live: ``It's the darkest day I've ever experienced in snooker.

“I’ve been talking to Ken Doherty, to John Parrott, and we all feel the integrity of the game has been put in question. It’s a horrible day.

“I’ve been speaking to Barry on whether he’s going to continue, or whether he’s going to drop the whole thing like a hot potato. He’s got tremendous credibility in the world of sport so does he want to be involved in something so tarnished? It’s a terrible hangover.

“I’d fully understand if Barry wanted to walk away but somebody needs to be in charge these days with a firm hand, now more than ever. That’s vital. He’s the only person who could dig the game out of the mire and the players need to realise that.

“There are other alleged incidents under investigation and no smoke without fire is bad enough but this has taken it to another level. The severity, the profile is just shocking.

“I think the integrity of the game has effectively evaporated overnight. It’s the lowest ebb it’s ever been. What a terrible wake-up call. It’s just too awful to contemplate.”