Higgins banned but cleared of match-fixing

A WHOLE summer of uncertainty for John Higgins ended yesterday after the three-time world champion was cleared of match-fixing by an independent tribunal.

The verdict comes as a big relief not only to Higgins but also to the new chairman of World Snooker, Barry Hearn.

However, like the characters in a Machiavellian play from the 16th century, none of protagonists emerged from this sorry saga with much credit.

Higgins has still been banned for six months - backdated to May when the story broke in the News of the World - having admitted the lesser offences of bringing the game into disrepute by not reporting the illegal approach.

The Scot was also fined £75,000 for his troubles but, after more than four months of this hanging over him, the seemingly irreversible damage to his reputation will undoubtedly hurt him more.

After all, he was only excused of having any part in match-fixing because the tribunal ruled that his manager Pat Mooney was "entirely responsible" for Higgins' presence in the Kiev hotel room where the filming took place.

Mooney is undoubtedly the nastiest piece of work in this episode, and he fully deserved his sanction of a life ban from having any influence in the game.

But Higgins was still on film admitting how easy it would be to throw a frame.

He almost certainly benefited from his previous reputation which has resulted in a lenient approach being adopted towards him.

The tribunal ruled that Higgins "is, by nature, someone who seeks to avoid confrontation or unpleasantness" and there remains an uncomfortable feeling that Mooney may have been a fall guy.

Snooker has just been introduced to a bright new era under Hearn's chairmanship with the introduction of new tournaments and an improved ranking system. The game could ill-afford the scandal to grow any bigger than it already is.

But, regardless of the conspiracy theories, it would seem Hearn's job of reforming the sport is even bigger than he originally thought.

Hearn hardly helped himself by promising the matter would be sorted in "days and weeks" rather than "months and months".

It was surely inevitable that this sort of case would take time and the fact it has dragged on all summer and even into the start of the new season shows a lack of judgement on Hearn's part.

The affair has also been bad news for the Murdoch media empire and the curious way in which they have handled it.

Of course, the News of the World was justified from a public interest angle in publishing the story in the first place if it considered it would stand up to scrutiny.

Indeed, the newspaper reacted to Higgins' ban by claiming victory and stating that the judgement was "a testament to the extraordinary work of our investigations editor Mazher Mahmood".

But the reality is that the publication has earned the wrath of media commentator Roy Greenslade in the Guardian and it has left itself wide open to libel.

Similarly, the News of the World's broadcasting stablemates Sky hardly covered themselves in glory over the issue either, claiming on their website that Higgins had admitted to match-fixing.

Once the story had been vigorously denied by Higgins' spokesperson, it was unsurprisingly hastily pulled.

If nothing else, questions should be asked over why the News of the World stalled on providing the full video evidence to tribunal - and just how much editing had been done?

But, with the allegations of phone hacking by News of the World staff dominating the news agenda, those questions are low on the priority list and look set to remain unanswered.

Unless, of course, Higgins takes the unlikely step of dragging the story back in front of the courts by suing for defamation.