08 January 2023 , 19:02
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Steve Davis has slammed any players found guilty in snooker's unprecedented match-fixing investigation over a 'breathtaking level of stupidity'.
Snooker has been thrown into chaos in a match-fixing investigation that has seen 10 Chinese players suspended in recent times amid allegations of 'manipulating the outcome of matches for betting purposes'.
And the Masters got under way at Alexandra Palace on Sunday under the dark cloud of the biggest probe of its kind in the sport's history.
Two of the world's top 16, Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao, are missing from the prestigious Triple Crown event as part of the investigation, which is now close to reaching its conclusion.
Six-time world champion Davis has described the ongoing investigation as 'embarrassing' in a stark assessment of the saga that has rocked the sport.
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"If the allegations are proven to be true, it shows a breathtaking level of stupidity by these players, but this is still to be developed," Davis, 65, told the BBC.
"It's embarrassing. I think all the players are aware of the situation and fortunately the WPBSA is on top of it. What effect it has on the game, it's hard to evaluate at the moment."
Zhao and Yan have been replaced in the Masters draw and compatriots Liang Wenbo, Lu Ning, Li Hang, Zhao Jianbo, Bai Langning, Chang Bingyu, Chen Zifan and Zhang Jiankang are also currently sidelined and barred from World Snooker competitions until the investigation is completed.
Zhao Xintong became the 10th snooker star suspended in the match-fixing investigation (PA)And Jason Ferguson, the chairman of the WPBSA governing body, has revealed that the probe is now nearing an end.
"I think we’re one-two weeks away from the completion of that inquiry,’ Ferguson told the BBC. "It won’t take long to assess whether there are charges to be levied against any of those players after that.
"Then we will establish an independent tribunal, which will be a properly formulated sports tribunal and it will be that tribunal which stands independently to judge this.
"That may all take another month or so. There’s never a good time for this, but we’re really pushing this process every day."