Stephen Lee’s name is back on people’s lips as his 12-year ban for match fixing has now officially come to an end.
The disgraced former world number five snooker star was banned from the sport in 2013 following suspicious betting in a number of his matches.
Snooker star Stephen Lee was banned in 2013Getty
This related to a match he lost in 2012 and in a further investigation charges were brought in relation to seven further matches between 2008 and 2009.
The 50-year-old’s ban officially ran out on October 12, meaning he can now compete, though there are still reports that he owes £125,000 in legal costs and unsuccessful appeals that would prevent a comeback.
Match-fixing is something that has dogged snooker for a number of years, with two Chinese players banned for life last year.
Ronnie O’Sullivan made claims in 2013 that he had ‘heard’ about more players throwing matches.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, O’Sullivan wrote: “I’ve heard there’s many more players who throw snooker matches .. I suppose Steve Lee was just caught out.”
That post is still visible on his account more than 10 years later.
President of Matchroom Sport Barry Hearn immediately asked O’Sullivan to explain himself and name names if he had information.
He said at the time: “If he has names and he knows of incidences he has an obligation and a duty to report them, and failure to do so will put him in breach of his player’s contract.
“World Snooker will be writing to Ronnie to say that under his player’s contract it is his responsibility to report any incidences he’s aware of and failure to do so would lay him open to a charge of bringing the game into disrepute.
“There’s no point in making vague announcements, if he knows something he has a responsibility to be specific and World Snooker will be writing to him on that basis.
O’Sullivan was asked to explain those comments back in 2013Getty
“I don’t know what’s behind his tweets. Sometimes there’s nothing behind them and sometimes there is.
“It’s for him to tell us. He’s either got to say, ‘actually I don’t know anything’, or if he knows something then he has a responsibility to tell us and if he doesn’t tell us then he could be brought into disrepute.”
O’Sullivan later added: “I suppose Steve Lee was just caught out.
“No need to worry if you got nothing to hide. But plenty of people have got loads to hide. That’s why there is no free speech. They’re hiding.
“They will prob (sic) fine me for talking about it. They don’t like you doing that. Like to keep things under the carpet.”
Barry Hearn released a statement asking O’Sullivan to clarify what he saidGetty
In separate comments, he backtracked on what he said.
“I would like to clarify the comments that I made on Twitter 17th September as they were an instant reaction to an issue which I feel strongly about, namely the integrity of my sport,” O’Sullivan said.
“The news about Stephen Lee’s match-fixing case was eye-opening to all players on the circuit, and sends out a clear message to any would-be cheats.
“I fully support this decision and commend the (sport’s ruling body) WPBSA for taking positive action in this case.”
He added: “If I were aware of match-fixing, I understand that it would be up to me to report any fears to the Association.
“I have no intention of undermining the integrity of the sport that I love and enjoy participating in so much and firmly believe that my tweets were taken out of context.”
It remains to be seen if Lee will ever make a comeback to the sport.
Speaking in 2022, he was non-committal about any future participation.
Stephen Lee’s ban – what was said
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association sought a lifetime ban for Stephen Lee after he was found guilty of seven match fixing charges.
The organisation’s head of disciplinary Nigel Mawer insisted the 12-year ban is effectively the same thing.
He said: “We did say we were seeking a life ban because if it was seven matches that had been fixed including during the world championships. But in effect it is a life ban because I think it is highly unlikely that Stephen Lee will be able to come back to the sport at this level.
“We don’t take great pleasure out of that – this is a case of a fantastic snooker player who has thrown it all away through making the wrong decisions. It is only human to have a degree of sympathy for him and it is going to be very difficult for him but we have to send a very strong message that match-fixing is not going to be tolerated. To my knowledge this is the longest ban ever handed down and there are £40,000 costs to pay too if he ever wants to come back.”
He said: “I must get asked this weekly, daily, minutely. I would like to say no… but I am still capable of playing. Let’s see what happens in two years. It’s not a no, and not a yes.
“We can only just see what happens in a couple of years’ time. I have some exciting things coming up, and I’m also getting older.
“My eyes are getting worse, and I never had good eyes to start with. As you get older the determination and the fire goes.”