Biggest Match-Fixing Case in Snooker History: Chinese Players Banned for Life

[New Tang Dynasty News, Beijing time, June 10, 2023]The “match-fixing case” of Chinese snooker players that lasted for more than seven months has finally come to an end. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) issued the most severe “ticket” in history. Two Chinese players were banned for life, and the other eight were banned for varying degrees. This is the biggest match-fixing case in the history of snooker, and it is also the most shameful scene in the history of Chinese snooker development. The reasons behind it are arousing reflection.

On June 7, Beijing time, the World Taiwan Federation announced the punishment results for ten Chinese players involved in the incident. Liang Wenbo and Li Xing were suspended for life. Yan Bingtao, Zhao Xintong, Lu Ning, Zhao Jianbo, Bai Langning, Chang Bingyu, Chen Zifan , Zhang Jiankang and others were subject to suspensions ranging from 1 year, 8 months to 5 years.

These ten players were originally the best force in Chinese snooker. They continued to hit the semi-finals of various snooker rankings and even won the championship. However, the introduction of the most stringent “banning order” in the history of the World Taiwan Federation has caused the long-term efforts of Chinese snooker players to suffer a collective collapse. This made the outside world sigh.

Ju Bin, former member of the Chinese national basketball team and Canadian basketball coach: “This is also an ugly thing. These things are done without sportsmanship and sportsmanship. It can reach this level, it must start little by little. .That is, he felt as if he could hold onto or control this, like an unfair deal, and they must have had precedent.”

Liang Wenbo and Li Xing were suspended for life, creating a historical precedent.

The World Taiwan Federation pointed out that Liang Wenbo had manipulated or participated in manipulating the game 5 times, participated in betting many times, and lured and instigated other players to manipulate the game 9 times. After the incident, he put pressure on young players and threatened not to cooperate with the World Taiwan Federation. He himself did not cooperate with the investigation. Li Xing acted as Liang’s accomplice in many incidents.

Xing Tianxing, a current affairs commentator in the United States, said that so many Chinese players have been involved in match-fixing scandals, which shows that it has formed a circle of moral degradation, which is one of the effects of corruption in the entire Chinese society.

Xing Tianxing: “As a Chinese player, it is a very painful thing. He lives in such a corrupt country, and it is difficult for him to have a strong force to protect himself. Such a management model and system that has been formed is itself full of problems.”

On June 7, the China Billiards Association also issued an announcement, saying that the players involved would be severely and severely punished, and the anti-gambling crackdown would be carried out to the end.

However, these seemingly “righteous and strict words” have also been questioned.

Xing Tianxing: “The problem is that such departments have been established a long time ago. What do they do? It is a state of dereliction of duty, that is to say, the lack of supervision. Its indulgence and tolerance, or they themselves, are these positions Only those people who are themselves unrighteous will lead to the spread of this corruption.”

Ju Bin: “Usually, it doesn’t matter if you are a leader behind the scenes or a power organization, if he thinks this matter is risky for him, he must sacrifice you and kick you out. And He told you that even if we acquiesced in this matter, you can’t say it. If he thinks that covering up this matter is more important than that, and if he thinks he has the ability, their authority will definitely cover him up.”

This is not the first time Chinese snooker players have been involved in match-fixing. In 2018, Chinese players Yu Delu and Cao Yupeng were suspended for 10 years, 9 months and 6 years respectively for gambling and manipulating the game. Later, because Cao Yupeng sincerely repented, he was only suspended for 2 years and 6 months.

The news that Chinese athletes have been banned for doping has also frequently appeared in the newspapers.

Ju Bin: “A Chinese athlete is not an independent individual. This is fundamentally different from foreign athletes. Everything he does has a thread behind it, and this thread is connected to the authority.”

Xing Tianxing believes that the lack of faith is also one of the important reasons.

Xing Tianxing: “A country without belief and respect for God will inevitably lose a foundation of morality. When bad things are rampant, it is difficult for good things to have the power to restrain evil things. This is what China After the CCP ruled for so many years and completely corrupted the culture of morality and belief, it brought such a bad result to the later Chinese people.”

In 2019, the China Taiwan Association established the British Professional Players Committee to supervise overseas Chinese professional players. Liang Wenbo, who was involved in the case, was previously the deputy director of the association. Liang Wenbo was removed from his position by the Taiwan Association of China after the incident of beating a woman on the street in the UK fermented last year.

Editing/Interview with Wang Ziqi/Changchun Houzhi/Wang Mingyu