Snooker: O'Sullivan calls for support for players suspended amid match-fixing probe

LONDON - Seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has called on snooker’s governing bodies to provide support for players suspended following an ongoing match-fixing investigation.

O’Sullivan, 47, urged caution about jumping to conclusions and highlighted the struggle to make a living from professional snooker after he reached the quarter-finals of the Masters at Alexandra Palace on Monday.

The London tournament has been overshadowed by the

absence of 2021 champion Yan Bingtao

and world No. 9 Zhao Xintong, who are among 10 Chinese players suspended as part of the investigation.

“Before you start criticising the guys involved, you have to put yourself in other people’s shoes,” O’Sullivan said.

“It can only be one of two things, they either have an addiction and if that’s a case then they need help, or they are struggling to make ends meet.

“World Snooker could help support them rather than being hard on them and maybe change their structure and maybe not put these players in that situation... Maybe help in some way where it’s less punishing for the lower-ranked players.

“I’m not one to be hard on them because I know it’s not easy for the bottom players... Try and get to the bottom of it and try and support these people to hopefully put them in a position where they might not feel the need to have to do what they’ve had to do.”

In a joint statement cited by British media, the World Snooker Tour (WST) and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) said they provide “support both in guaranteed income and the opportunity to earn significant sums of prize money”.

“Our structure includes a players’ board, and providing welfare and support to our players is extremely important to us,” it said.

While O’Sullivan has called for support, snooker great Steve Davis has labelled the ongoing investigation as “embarrassing” for the sport while raising concerns about what it could do to the growth of the game in China.

The three-time Masters champion told the BBC: “If the allegations are proven to be true, it shows a breathtaking level of stupidity by these players, but this is still to be developed.

“It’s embarrassing. I think all the players are aware of the situation and fortunately the WPBSA is on top of it. What effect it has on the game, it’s hard to evaluate at the moment.

“What effect it has in China is even harder to say. It may have a detrimental effect on events over there – let’s hope not.” REUTERS, AFP