Match Fixing a “Cancer” Killing Snooker: BetFred Hurt Cred?
In the midst of perhaps snooker's biggest scandal of all time, the online bookmaker BetFred.com has found itself caught in the middle.
BetFred sponsors snooker world champion John Higgins, who this weekend it was revealed had shook hands on a disgraceful deal to fix a string of high-profile matches after demanding a £300,000 kickback.
"The scandal will cast a dark shadow over the final of this year's championship which starts today and disgust the millions of fans tuning into the BBC to watch their sporting idols," reported the News of the World, which broke the story after hiring a hidden camera-carrying investigator to meet with Higgins.
BetFred.com not only sponsors Higgins but they also sponsor the World Championship. This is an irony that can't be overlooked when discussing match-fixing allegations.
News of the plot overshadowed the start of this year's Crucible final yesterday between Neil Robertson and Graeme Dott - what should have been the showpiece climax to the season, the Sun reported.
WPBSA board member Davis had to beg chairman Barry Hearn not to abandon plans to revamp the game and quit snooker as the aftershocks of the scandal hit home, that paper reported.
Davis, 52, said: "Everybody is in shock. Everyone's walking around in bits. It's a dark day for snooker.
"With Barry Hearn in the process of taking the game over, he may be able to cut the cancer out of it from day one.
"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's effectively evaporated overnight. It's the lowest ebb it's ever been."
Authorities are still investigating strange betting patterns involving snooker players Stephen Maguire and Jamie Burnett two years ago.
This latest snooker bet-fixing scandal could cost the sport millions.
Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com
