DISGRACED Stephen Lee is free to play snooker professionally again after a 12-year ban from the sport.
Lee, 50, was banned from snooker in 2013 after being found guilty of match-fixing.
Stephen Lee was banned for 12 years after being found guilty of match-fixing[/caption]
But he could now return to action after the ban expired on October 12[/caption]
His punishment came after reports emerged relating to two bookmakers having illegal betting patterns surrounding a match in the 2012 Premier League, which Lee lost 4-2.
A subsequent investigation by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the sports governing body, brought charges relating to seven further matches between 2008 and 2009.
Lee was also found guilty of “accepting payment to influence the outcome of a match” in seven other games.
He had been “working with three different groups who were betting on multiple platforms and the exact score and frame outcomes for matches he played in those tournaments”.
His long list of transgressions ultimately saw him slapped with a 12-year competitive ban, which was the heaviest in the history of the sport before Liang Wenbo and Li Hang got lifetime bans last year.
Then WPBSA head of disciplinary Nigel Mawer had called it effectively “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”.
However, the former World No5 has now been cleared to play again after the ban expired on October 12.
In an interview with the Mirror in 2022, the “Class of 92” member – also containing Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins – opened up on his potential return.
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.”
Regardless, Lee still owes the WPBSA £125,000 in legal costs from court cases and unsuccessful appeals.
The organisation told Snooker HQ: “Stephen Lee would need to reach a satisfactory agreement with the WPBSA over settlement of his costs before he could play.”
Lee avoided jail in 2018 after he was found to be giving one-on-one snooker lessons when he was arrested in Hong Kong.
The unpaid fines will prevent him from participating on the Q Tour, Q School, and the WSF Championship – normal routes for amateur players to gain promotion back to the World Snooker Tour.
So whether a deal can be made between Lee and the governing body over his participation and the outstanding fine remains to be seen.
However, it would only come after consulting current players, and could also represent a tricky PR problem for the sport.
Inside snooker’s Class of 92 that gives Man Utd’s a run for its money
MANCHESTER UNITED’S Class of 92 is often thought of as one of the greatest generations of players to come though in a sport.
However, snooker can certainly make a case thanks to its own Class of 92, comprised of THREE world champions.
It’s been more than three decades since Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams, John Higgins burst onto the scene when they turned professional in 1992.
They incredibly remain at the summit of snooker, having all won multiple world titles and have all recorded 147s at the Crucible.
Meanwhile, their fourth member – Stephen Lee – is in line for a potential return to the sport after a 12-year ban.
You can read about Snooker’s fabled Class of 92 by clicking HERE.
