Snooker
Topic: John Higgins Scandal

John Higgins is the LAST person I would have down as being involved in this. If it is true, good luck Barry Hearn!


http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/801641/How-world-snooker-champion-John-Higgins-plots-to-betray-his-fans-for-cash.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8656637.stm


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Chris @ Pro9

OMG! You wouldn't expect that from him would you? That is a shame.


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"I'm the best you've ever seen Fats, I'm the best there is, even if you beat me i'm still the best."

Oh God, this is devastating!

What a disgusting cheat. And the fact his manager is a cheating scumbag as well? And both are close to Barry Hearns plans to reform the game.

He has £5m in the coffers, whats €300k to him?

Their defence is that they were fearing for their safety as they thought they were dealing with mobsters therefore were 'going along' with it all but you can tell by their body language and voices that they were not worried at all and certainly chose to be there.

Still just gobsmacked at this


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Chris @ Pro9

unbelievable!! at least it is until you watch the video... Higgins seems very comfortable during the conversation so I can't buy the mobsters defence at all...

Why does he need another 200 or 300k anyway, bizarre & stupid!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article7114318.ece

"I've read the piece, I've seen the video, I would imagine I can't see any reason not to suspend him at this moment in time," Hearn, who is considering his own position, said.

If you read the article carefully you will see it is £300k per year as an ongoing arrangement. Very disappointed as I always saw him as one of the good guys who was humble despite his amazing talent and success. Obviously I'm wrong. He would have been the last player I would have chosen to be involved in something like this.

Which is perhaps why it would have worked in most cases.

This is a sad day to be a sports fan. Got to feel for Graeme Dott and Neil Robertson, I hope they both somehow manage to keep their eyes on the prize today and tomorrow.

Of all the people to take a bribe to lose.., the world champion and millionaire John Higgins. What a t***.

A typical example of the country we all live - the rich get richer and the poor get shafted !...the words fat and greedy spring to mind !.....vote Anarchy and chaos !!!!!

RIP Higgins he'll never play snooker again

terrible

A sad, sad day. When will it all end?

i agree with what a lot of people say whats few hundred grand when you got millions but the truth is the more you got the more you want.
if you earn 500 a week you want 6oo so the boss pays you it then the goalposts are moved and you then want 700 and so on simple fact is people are greedy especially when they think they can get away with it

typical just as hearn takes over n has a chance re-juvanate the sport, this happens

higgins tho! cant believe its him but like someone said with his position in the game, it would be less noticable

nothing a top Lawyer can't sort out !..of course.It's obvious in the film that he is trembling and shaking with fear and that his life is in the "balance" - he talks about paying off the mortgage on his property in Spain....just a ploy! what he is really saying is that his "blackmailers"(the Russian Mafia) can use the Villa anytime they like ! free of charge !...all a big misunderstanding !


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The Agent

great bloke higgins,had him at our club for an exhibition

but

attemptin to pull a stunt like this off,he wants banning for life,MBE aswell stripping,terrible news for snooker

Although I will probably end up with egg on my face for voicing this opinion I would be surprised if John Higgins is a cheat. Snooker has always been a game I have played and whilst I have roamed between interests like Pool, politics, businesses, websites, blogs and different jobs I have always had Snooker each weekend to look forward to and I hate to see the game dragged through the mud but the tabloids chose the timing carefully to coincide with when interest in Snooker is at its highest.

As I have played a small amount of tournaments on the semi-professional circuit in Pool you get talking to people and I’ve heard two stories about a player being offered this and that to lose but you are never sure whether it is just drink talking and exaggerations. What I will say is that unfortunately snooker has had a fairly chequered past with this sort of thing. Quinten Hann is serving an eight year ban for match fixing at the moment. If guilty then John Higgins can expect a similar ban.

Higgins’s defence is that he felt uneasy the way the interview was going and felt the best way was to play along and then get home as quickly as possible fearing he was talking to Russian mafia. The video certainly does not show any of this anxiety but he could be telling the truth. Only John himself knows whether he is honest or not, maybe his head was turned by the prospect of earning £300,000 per year as was suggested. I hope that my assessment of him is correct and there is an element of a misunderstanding here. I am not quite ready to banish him just yet; there is a big difference between talking about something and actually doing it.

If such a sting was meant to be proven, would it not be better to actually set up a bet, do not actually place the bet but have him believe it was in place and then have the evidence in terms of his performance when he lost the frame in question? Nothing will be proven now because no money changed hands and his defence cannot be completely refuted when he may have felt nervous and chose that course of action.

We all know that there isn't the money in the game that there used to be... Or perhaps there is, you just have to know where to look for it.