Not only snooker, but also any sport can’t touch the red line of ＂gambling and fake＂ ｜ New body talk

As Zhao Xintong said in his apology statement, it is more important to be a man than to play well.

▲ Liang Wenbo (left) and Li Hsing were banned for life by the World Federation of Taiwan. Data Map/Xinhua News Agency

On June 7th, the World Federation of Taiwan issued a heavy ticket and overturned the table of China snooker.

In this ticket for 10 China snooker players accused of match-fixing, Liang Wenbo and Li Hsing were banned for life, and 8 people including Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao were banned for 1 year and 8 months to 5 years and 4 months.

Shortly after the ticket was announced, the China Billiards Association issued a document saying that it has always adhered to a "zero tolerance" attitude towards gambling, match-fixing and other behaviors that violate sports ethics, resolutely cracked down on such behaviors, and made every effort to create a fair and just competition environment.

Trousers, shirts, vests, bow ties, and the unique clothes of snooker players have labeled this sport as a "gentleman". However, with the proliferation of match-fixing and gambling, this sport has gradually become stale.

In response to these lesions, the World Federation of Taiwan has always pursued "heavy hand, heavy medicine." Higgins, one of the "Three Masters of 75", was banned for half a year for gambling. Stephen Lee, a famous "fat man", was banned for 12 years because of match-fixing. More than four years ago, China players Yu Delu and Cao Yupeng were suspended for 10 years, 9 months and 6 years respectively for match fixing.

Even so, in the face of temptation, Liang Wenbo and Li Hsing took risks, eventually ruining their career prospects, and blackening China snooker.

In fact, not only snooker, but also any sports are not allowed to touch the red line of "gambling and fake".

At that time, China football anti-gambling, and a number of "big shots" were arrested for match-fixing. Donaghy, the NBA black whistle, was greedy, rigged the game and was jailed. Last season, in the CBA playoffs, the Shanghai men’s basketball team and Jiangsu men’s basketball team played passively. Not only were they disqualified, but the head coach and general manager were also banned for many years. In the e-sports project DOTA2, 46 people were fined because the players interfered with fair competition, and 21 of them were banned for life.

The lessons brought by these cases at home and abroad are profound enough. The heavy fines of the World Taiwan Federation and the "zero tolerance" statement of the Chinese billiards association are all warnings. In order to truly put an end to gambling and match-fixing, in addition to strict management and punishment by all parties, athletes must start from themselves, deeply realize that "one gambling mistake is lifelong", and at the same time, they must always say "no" to external inducement or even threat.

As Zhao Xintong said in his apology statement, it is more important to be a man than to play well.

In the past few years, with the efforts of all parties, China snooker has made great progress, and both the competitive level of players and the market development have been recognized. In terms of players, in addition to Ding Junhui continuing to hold high the flag, teenager Si Jiahui also showed his potential. On the market side, the China Stadium will resume hosting events one after another, with the Shanghai Masters in September, the Wuhan Open in October and the International Championship in November being staged gradually, and it is just around the corner to regain the glory of the past.

Because of this, the hard-won situation should be cherished. Not only athletes need to abide by their professionalism and adhere to fairness and justice, but the whole industry should also wake up the alarm and carry out anti-gambling and counterfeiting to the end. Only in this way can China snooker recover from the blow of 10 people’s suspension and regain public recognition.

Written by/Xu Bangyin (Beijing News Sports Commentator)

Editor/Wang Chunqiu

Proofreading/Wu Xingfa