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John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Casey

As of the 7th 8th of September John Higgins and Pat Mooney will answer to allegations put against them by the WPBSA as a result of a NOTW article in May.

At this moment it is unclear as whether John will hear his fate on the 8th by an independent tribunal.

Feel free to discuss; any further updates will be placed here.

Please note that due to the sensitive nature of this subject the Island mods will have to monitor this thread closer than others, regrettably as a result any defamation of party's involved will have to be removed.

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Casey

The tribunal will be headed by Ian Mill QC, who has previous experience of dealing with high-profile sporting cases.

In 2004, he chaired the panel which rejected England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand's appeal against an eight-month suspension for failing to attend a drugs test.

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Smart

case_master wrote:
The tribunal will be headed by Ian Mill QC, who has previous experience of dealing with high-profile sporting cases.

In 2004, he chaired the panel which rejected England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand's appeal against an eight-month suspension for failing to attend a drugs test.


well if he is a ManUre hater, then he must be a good man.......... <ok>

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Tubberlad

My feelings on this are very strong, and I personally have felt very angry from day one. My views are not likely to go down well with the majority of snooker fans, and for legal reasons Ive got to remain pretty muted... for now at least. That said, its a difficult time for his family, and my thoughts are with them, this was not something they should ever have to face.

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Monique

http://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/wor ... tlead.html
HIGGINS FACES TRIBUNAL

By John Skilbeck, Press Association Sport

John Higgins will tomorrow reach the final stage in the quest to clear his name following the allegations of frame-fixing which rocked snooker.

The 35-year-old Scot, who firmly denies the allegations made against him, will appear at a behind-closed-doors two-day tribunal organised by Sport Resolutions, a London-based independent dispute resolution service.

Higgins is eager to clear his name and get back to playing, however there could be weeks of waiting ahead for the three-time former world champion if an independent panel, headed by Ian Mill QC, decide against announcing their verdict on Wednesday.

If the panel can make a swift decision it will be delivered verbally to World Snooker and Higgins, and then made public.

However, the panel may elect to take two to three days before announcing the initial findings, and should the case prove sufficiently complicated they have the option of taking three to four weeks before delivering a full written verdict.

On May 2, the first day of the World Championship final, the News of the World alleged that Higgins and his manager Pat Mooney had agreed to take money to influence the outcome of matches.

Higgins and Mooney both travelled to Ukraine where they took part in a meeting with undercover reporters posing as businessmen who they believed were keen to set up tournaments in the country. Higgins and Mooney ran the World Series of Snooker, which staged tournaments in countries the main professional tour did not visit.

The News of the World alleged they agreed to accept £261,000 in return for fixing the outcome of four frames in matches to be played later this year at the new events.

Higgins swiftly denied the claims, insisting in a statement: "Can I say that I have never been involved in any form of snooker match-fixing. In my 18 years playing professional snooker I have never deliberately missed a shot, never mind intentionally lost a frame or a match."

However, he was immediately suspended and warned by Barry Hearn, the chairman of World Snooker, he would face "severe" punishment if the allegations could be proven.

World Snooker decided there was a case to answer, and they will present their case first at the hearing. Higgins will then have the opportunity to tell his side of events before both sides give closing statements and the panel retires to consider the evidence.

World Snooker and Higgins have elected not to disclose the venue for the hearing, however it will be held away from Sport Resolutions' Fleet Street offices.

If Higgins is cleared, he will be free to resume his playing career with immediate effect, and could make his comeback at the World Open in Glasgow, which begins on September 18. The 35-year-old from nearby Wishaw would be sure to receive a warm welcome from the Scottish crowd.

Should the hearing find against him, however, Higgins would face a long ban from the sport, although a lifetime ban appears out of the question, on the basis of recent remarks from Hearn.

He would also have the right to appeal, and should he lose an appeal would have a further right to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

Higgins in May described the task of proving his innocence as "the biggest match of my life".

He insisted at the time of the allegations coming to light that he and Mooney had feared they were in the company of "Russian mafia" in Kiev and decided "to play along with these guys and get out of Ukraine".

Higgins is expected to be asked why, if he had encountered such a situation, he did not report it to the WPBSA.

David Douglas, a former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent who joined the board of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association in April, has led the investigation, which has involved examining the News of the World's dossier, including the full video footage of the Kiev meeting.Mill, who heads the adjudicating panel, has considerable experience of dealing with sporting disputes.

He notably chaired the independent panel which in 2004 turned down England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand's appeal against his eight month suspension for failing to attend a drugs test.


there are many other articles in the press today, not surprisingly, but this one explains rather well what the procedure is and what are the different possible outcomes.

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby JohnFromLondonTown

I just hope that it all comes out in the wash & we get the transparency we were promised.

John Higgins to walk. <ok>

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Roland

How will they integrate him into the World Open? They'll have to create an extra match to accomodate him when he's cleared.

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Rocket_ron

Sonny wrote:How will they integrate him into the World Open? They'll have to create an extra match to accomodate him when he's cleared.

I think if cleared he will still miss the world open

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Roland

That's not what Sporting Intelligence think (see Monique's post above)

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Rocket_ron

it said a life time ban would be "ruled out" well if he found quilty then it should be a substantual ban as that would be unfair to previous wrong doers such as Hann

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Roland

If he's found quilty I hope he gets a good nights sleep after the verdict :redneck:

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Monique

rocket_ron wrote:it said a life time ban would be "ruled out" well if he found quilty then it should be a substantual ban as that would be unfair to previous wrong doers such as Hann

Quinten Hahn didn't get a life ban, he got a 8 years ban.

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Rocket_ron

Monique wrote:
rocket_ron wrote:it said a life time ban would be "ruled out" well if he found quilty then it should be a substantual ban as that would be unfair to previous wrong doers such as Hann

Quinten Hahn didn't get a life ban, he got a 8 years ban.

yes i know, what im saying is higgins if quilty should get more than 8 years..but if got a feeling he wont

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Wildey

what did quinten hann do or accused of doing john higgins hasn't ?

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby SnookerFan

wildJONESEYE wrote:what did quinten hann do or accused of doing john higgins hasn't ?


The only difference is that he weren't stupid enough to get it on camera. I don't see why Higgin's sentance should be longer? :huh:

I think if he is guilty, he should site about the same.

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Monique

rocket_ron wrote:
Monique wrote:
rocket_ron wrote:it said a life time ban would be "ruled out" well if he found quilty then it should be a substantual ban as that would be unfair to previous wrong doers such as Hann

Quinten Hahn didn't get a life ban, he got a 8 years ban.

yes i know, what im saying is higgins if quilty should get more than 8 years..but if got a feeling he wont


Well I can't see what it is that supports your "feeling". John has been suspended promptly given the seriousness of the suspicions. There is nothing that suggest he will be "protected" if guilty. The case has been handled diligently and in professional way for what we can judge by the information we have.

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Wildey

rocket_ron wrote:
wildJONESEYE wrote:what did quinten hann do or accused of doing john higgins hasn't ?

match fixing, so 8 years at least for john

exactly

neither actually fixed any match just agreed to do it.

so its 8 years thats the tariff if guilty.

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Rocket_ron

Monique wrote:
rocket_ron wrote:
Monique wrote:
rocket_ron wrote:it said a life time ban would be "ruled out" well if he found quilty then it should be a substantual ban as that would be unfair to previous wrong doers such as Hann

Quinten Hahn didn't get a life ban, he got a 8 years ban.

yes i know, what im saying is higgins if quilty should get more than 8 years..but if got a feeling he wont


Well I can't see what it is that supports your "feeling". John has been suspended promptly given the seriousness of the suspicions. There is nothing that suggest he will be "protected" if guilty. The case has been handled diligently and in professional way for what we can judge by the information we have.

because WSA are soft touch, hann wasn't a star player but higgins is WN1

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Rocket_ron

wildJONESEYE wrote:
rocket_ron wrote:
wildJONESEYE wrote:what did quinten hann do or accused of doing john higgins hasn't ?

match fixing, so 8 years at least for john

exactly

neither actually fixed any match just agreed to do it.

so its 8 years thats the tariff if guilty.

correct

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Roland

I think if you're talking about character references, Higgins will have a lot more than Hann would have done.

I do hope Hann comes back one day though. He was pure entertainment value.

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Wildey

Barry Hearn and the new world snooker wont be soft touch someone thats soft touch wouldn't have hired a Met superintendent to be in charge of anti corruption a soft touch would have hired a Retired butcher etc like dads army.

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby Monique

I very much doubt Hearn's WSA will be soft touch. There is far too much at stake when it comes to the betting industry and the sponsor's trust.

Re: John Higgins tribunal thread

Postby JohnFromLondonTown

wildJONESEYE wrote:Barry Hearn and the new world snooker wont be soft touch someone thats soft touch wouldn't have hired a Met superintendent to be in charge of anti corruption a soft touch would have hired a Retired butcher etc like dads army.

bucking roll on....<laugh>