Rocket Once Offered Fix

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Ronnie O'Sullivan says he rejected a £20,000 offer to fix a snooker match. The five-time world champion said a proposal concerning a Premier League fixture was made by somebody he knew about 10 years ago.

"Someone rang me and said he'd like to meet me over in the forest and have a walk through the woods," O'Sullivan, 37, wrote in his new autobiography.

"What they were offering, 20 grand," he added, "I could get for a couple of nights' work."

O'Sullivan, who won his fifth world title in May after taking a six-month break from the sport, said the meeting - in Epping Forest, Essex - lasted about 15 minutes.

"If anyone could get away with it, I could. I could just play one-handed, or left-handed or just put a towel over my head and pretend I was going nuts. But it's not something I would or could do. I couldn't live with myself; I'd feel that was robbing somebody."

The revelation comes less than a month after former world top-five player Stephen Lee was handed a 12-year ban after being found guilty of seven match-fixing charges.

A response to O'Sullivan's comments is being considered by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.

In an interview with BBC Sport, the player was asked whether he had ever considered throwing a match.

"I can't do it. I enjoy playing - snooker's given me a great life.," he said.

"It's not just about the money. You put all of that on the line. Without snooker you'd lose friends and family.

"You're not just taking the money, but jeopardising relationships with people, the sport, and the opportunity to embrace great things that being a professional snooker player can give you."

O'Sullivan recently backtracked on a claim he made that Lee was not the only player guilty of match-fixing.

The Essex player, nicknamed 'The Rocket', had originally tweeted: "I've heard there's many more players who throw snooker matches.

"I suppose Steve Lee was just caught out.

"No need to worry if you got nothing to hide. But plenty of people have got loads to hide. That's why there is no free speech. They're hiding."

World Snooker boss Barry Hearn reacted by stating O'Sullivan's comments were "unacceptable and damaging".

O'Sullivan later said he had "no concrete evidence of match-fixing in snooker," but hinted players were aware of who might be involved.

Related articles

• Ronnie and Ali set for Snooker Showdown
• I was offered £20k to fix - O'Sullivan
• Ronnie O'Sullivan: 'I was offered £20,000 to throw a snooker match'
• Ronnie O'Sullivan suggests Stephen Lee is not only snooker player fixing matches
• Ronnie O'Sullivan: I was offered £20,000 to fix a Premier League snooker match
• More players fix games - O'Sullivan

Hearn Responds to Mark Allen

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn has said he will seek legal advice following Mark Allen's comments about his running of the sport.

Allen spoke out at the UK Championships in York on Monday, calling for Hearn to step aside and accusing him of reneging on promises and looking to "make money for himself".

The 25-year-old Northern Irishman also claimed Hearn's attitude was one of "**** the players", an outburst that has already brought him a referral to the game's governing body, the WPBSA, for breaching tournament rules.

He could now be charged, but his review of Hearn's governance of the sport may also have repercussions away from the table.

Hearn said: "I'm disappointed. And while there's a fabulous tournament going on I'd hoped we could concentrate on that instead of the comments of just one player.

"I'm also disappointed by the personal attack Mark has made on me with his comments that are slanderous and will be taking separate legal advice on the matter."

Allen's initial ire came over the reduction of frames at the UK Championships, which is regarded as the second-biggest event on the sport's calendar.

First and second-round matches have been cut from 17 frames to 11, while fans can now watch both at once after the partition that separated the tables was removed.

Hearn has honed his reputation as a visionary in darts, but Allen is concerned that snooker is starting to follow darts' lead.

"I've got no doubt he'll tweak the World Championship," Allen added.

"Barry's just there to make money for himself, it doesn't matter about the players. The whole tradition of the game is going to pot.

"He (Hearn) needs to get away from the darts factor. It's getting close to that. I think in the long run he'll probably do good for snooker, but not for my generation. It's time to let someone else have a go."

Hearn took over at the top of the sport 18 months ago after being voted in by the players, and has made a number of changes already, including increasing the number of ranking events by two and adding in another 13 tournaments that carry ranking points.

Prize money has also gone up and the likes of Shaun Murphy and Mark Williams, both former World Champions, have supported what the veteran promoter is doing.

Other leading names have voiced concerns, though, with John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan questioning some of Hearn's decisions.

But 63-year-old Hearn, who also chairs the Professional Darts Corporation, Matchroom Sports and Leyton Orient FC, believes change is necessary.

He added: "The ratings are up, ticket sales are 50 per cent up on last year, so the changes seem to be working for the improvement of snooker. Let's face it, things had to change."

Allen will return to the table for the first time since his comments tonight, when he will play Ali Carter for a place in the quarter-finals.