Stephen Lee
Stephen Lee doesn’t look like a professional sportsman. He now stands accused of not behaving like one either. Last week he was suspended from all snooker pending an investigation into suspicious betting patterns in his Premier League match against John Higgins, shown live on Sky Sports. Ominously, he has previous. Indeed, only days before this latest furore, he was informed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that a case against him regarding allegations dating back over two years had been dropped. While there will be no criminal proceedings the governing body (WPBSA), in possession of information collected by the Gambling Commission, have commenced their own inquiry. Faced with a second accusation of wrongdoing, a colourful career now hangs in the balance.
In the wake of the Lance Armstrong bombshell, and the charging of several footballers in the latest race fixing scandal to hit the equine world, these are febrile times for sporting integrity. Small wonder then that snooker’s rulers, having themselves already dealt with high-profile match rigging controversies surrounding the former World Champion Higgins, are unwilling to take any chances. Lee, whose rotund build makes him an unmistakable presence on the circuit, might just have been involved in one questionable incident too many. As the Barry Hearn revolution seeks to promote the game in hitherto untapped markets, his continued participation whilst under suspicion has the potential for embarrassment. But is the Trowbridge potter not an easy target here, and is he being scapegoated so as something can be seen to be done?
It is true that trading on the betting exchanges for the Malvern clash which led to his expulsion was over twelve times what might have been expected for such an event. A major darts tournament running concurrently should probably, if anything, have diluted the interest. The overwhelming bulk of the money matched was for Higgins to emerge victorious. This certainly looked the likely outcome with the Scot 3-2 ahead and with a significant advantage in the final frame before a break developed for his opponent. With the colours remaining, a clearance would see Lee level the match on the black, though he is in far from perfect position. Despite this he manages to stay in control until he fluffs a rest shot on the pink, possibly rushed by the clock, an innovation of this competition, which is beginning its countdown as he makes contact. In the exchange which follows, Lee lays a perfect snooker before losing control of the cue ball again in potting the pink. The frame ends with a lame attempt to get safe off the black, an invitation which Higgins accepts gratefully.
To place this in context though, Lee is no angel. It is a matter of public record that his financial affairs are complicated to say the least. He has a string of County Court Judgements against his name and has previously been successfully sued by a sponsor for not wearing their logo on his waistcoat, thereby breaching his contractual obligations. In July he was reprimanded and given a formal warning by the WPBSA over his conduct in such matters. No stranger to the disciplinary committee, he tested positive for cannabis back in 2000 and six years later was arrested by police in connection with a conspiracy to supply drugs probe, though no further action was taken. His well-documented weight issues have variously been ascribed to dietary problems and excessive drinking. Rumours abound on the tour and more whispers attach themselves to Lee than most. Judd Trump’s immediate reaction to the events described above was to point the finger in his direction on Twitter, though the comments were hastily removed. It suggests a reputation which may be preceding him.
From the outside, all of this seems a little simplistic. With the dust having not yet settled on the 2010 case, and with it re-emerging from the shadows in the light of the CPS announcement, it would be foolish in the extreme for Lee to get himself embroiled in another predicament at this time, when he might be under greater scrutiny than usual. Furthermore it was clearly in his power to throw the offending frame in a rather less obvious manner than that which transpired. He had twice sunk difficult pots on the green which were eminently missable, while the safety shot on the pink was a pretty tidy effort for a man actively trying to lose. The audit trails in such cases are now more transparent than ever. If sufficient evidence exists to link the Wiltshire man to illegal transactions, then the likelihood of his getting away with it is negligible.
The crimes and misdemeanours list had apparently taken their toll on Lee’s game, resulting in his plummeting down the rankings and even contemplating giving it all up. But the terminal decline has been arrested. Recent developments, including a slew of new tournaments, had reinvigorated his appetite, his form had returned and last season he claimed his first title in six years. Always admired for his smooth cueing action, the rhythm and consistency was there once more and, with the new campaign in its infancy, he had broken into the top eight and was poised to rise even higher. A struggling player or one who feels he may have reached the limits of his ability might succumb easily to temptation. Why would Lee jeopardise all the hard work involved in fighting back from the doldrums with such spectacular effect? His profile might fit the bill but his circumstances certainly don’t.
Mud sticks, and enough has attached itself to his ample girth to deprive him of the benefit of the doubt. He has signalled his intention to contest the claims vigorously. But whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Are there some sensitive details unknown to us which make his position untenable? Would a less tainted character have been afforded more understanding? All this does is arouses probably unfounded scepticism every time a mistake is made and that erosion of trust does greater harm not just to the image of snooker, but to its very credibility. Lee looks like a marked man, paying for past sins and the spirit of the times with the removal of his livelihood. Of course it may well turn out that he has fatally overstepped the mark and his banishment will turn out to be permanent. Just don’t put any money on it.
SAGE OF THE NORTH 