On the evening of June 6th, Beijing time, the investigation and verdict of 10 China snooker players involved in match-fixing were announced.
According to the ruling, two players, Liang Wenbo and Li Hsing, were banned from snooker for life, and both were required to pay 43,000 pounds. The other eight players were suspended for a minimum of one year and eight months in Zhao Xintong and a maximum of five years and four months in Luning.
After the results were announced, the topic of "Liang Wenbo’s life-long ban" was immediately searched on social platforms, and some fans expressed anger that Liang Wenbo had ruined the future of snooker in China by himself. Some fans believe that this scandal has further affected the reputation of China’s sports community in the international community.
Liang Wenbo is in the game. Figure/source network
The China Billiards Association (Taiwan Association) announced afterwards that it attached great importance to the gambling incident involving players in Britain. According to the survey results of the World Professional Billie and Snooker Association, the players involved will be severely punished.
The association will carry out warning education in the whole industry and launch a series of measures to carry out anti-gambling and counterfeiting to the end.
The association will further strengthen the management of professional players in Britain and strengthen cooperation with international organizations to jointly prevent similar incidents from happening again.
On June 7th, Jiupai News contacted the China Billiards Association and asked what kind of strict and severe punishment the association would adopt for players such as Liang Wenbo and Li Hsing.
A staff member said that official website, the Taiwan Association, would have further information about the results of the players’ strict and severe punishment. As for what measures will be taken to carry out anti-gambling and anti-counterfeiting actions in China, the above-mentioned staff said that they will also be announced to all sectors of society.
In the official website of the Taiwan Association, the nine-faction news noticed that there was a top announcement, namely "Notice on Strictly Investigating Gambling and Match-fixing and Strengthening Industry Self-discipline".
In this notice for member associations, relevant units and individuals, the Billiards Association used harsh words, saying that this kind of behavior had occurred in the industry before, which caused serious adverse effects, and a number of regulatory measures had been introduced to prohibit such behavior, and severe punishment was given to the relevant personnel.
The notice mentioned that the Chinese Billiards Association will seriously investigate and verify the punishment decisions made by international sports organizations, and impose additional penalties on those with clear facts and conclusive evidence. Anyone who cheats in international matches or gambles with inside information will be given a life-long ban once verified.
Official website’s top notice from Taiwan Association. Figure/China Billiards Association official website
In the survey results of the World Professional Billie and Snooker Association, two snooker players, Liang Wenbo and Li Hsing, have been sentenced to life ban, and it is still unknown what kind of punishment will be added by the China Taiwan Association.
Although the remaining eight players involved in the match-fixing case were suspended for a maximum of five years and four months, according to the top notice of the China Billiards Association, in the worst case, they may still be punished by the China Taiwan Association for life.
It is worth mentioning that Zhao Xintong, who was involved in the match-fixing case and was banned for one year and eight months, posted an apology statement on his personal social media.
First, he apologized to everyone, saying that he had failed the trust of the fans and humiliated China snooker. At the same time, he said that his life abroad alone was boring, so he mistakenly chose "gambling" to pass the time.
"When my friends around me asked me to help me bet, I failed to summon up the courage to say’ no’ and didn’t report this behavior to the WPBSA Disciplinary Committee.
"I naively thought that I only responded to a good friend’s request, and I didn’t get any benefit in the process. I paid a heavy price for my stupid behavior at that time and spent every day in regret."
Apologize Statement Finally, Zhao Xintong thanked some fans for their support, and said that he would be brave after being ashamed and be a snooker player who abides by the rules on and off the court.
Nine-School Journalist Wu Di Intern reporter Huang Mengyu
[Source: Jiupai News]