The sport of snooker has been shaken by a corruption investigation involving ten Chinese players, and it is now alleged that threats to rig matches have been made against young people.
There is a snooker corruption problem that is allegedly including young players receiving threats to their family members in order to purposefully lose matches.
Snooker executives have accused ten Chinese players of various offenses in the largest match-fixing scandal in the history of the game.
Future world champions Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong are two of the most well-known athletes who are presently under suspension by the WPBSA, the organization that oversees the sport, as part of an unprecedented probe.
Liang Wenbo, Lu Ning, Li Hang, Chang Bingyu, Zhang Ziakang, Chen Zifan, Bai Langning, and Zhao Jianbo are the other eight players that have cases to resolve.
Every player benched for the inquiry is a British national, and according to The Times, several of the young people involved in the investigation have received threats that they would be used to rig games.
There are rumors that players and their families have been threatened in an attempt to coerce them into tossing matches.
Furthermore, the article states that the Gambling Commission is considering whether to file a police complaint on the matter due to potential connections to organized crime.
Liang, the former winner of the English Open, was charged with “being concerned in fixing matches and approaching players to fix matches on the World Snooker Tour, seeking to obstruct the investigation and failing to cooperate with the WPBSA.” Liang was suspended on October 27 and had previously been banned by the WBPSA due to a court conviction for assault.
Furthermore, Chang, a young player banned, claims Liang threatened to forfeit his September British Open match against Jamie Jones. Chang, 20, said that Liang, 35, had scared him into losing his match against Jones, 4-1, because he was afraid.
