Match-fixing snooker star has made return stance clear as ban ends | Other | Sport

Stephen Lee has already publicly commented on the possibility of returning to professional snooker after his 12-year suspension for match-fixing came to an end today (Sunday).Lee, a World Championship semi-finalist in 2003 and former world No. 5, was found guilty of seven counts of fixing matches between 2008 and 2009 and subsequently slapped with a lengthy ban from the sport.After charges were brought upon him by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), he was suspended from events in 2012 and then found guilty by an independent tribunal the following year.Sport Resolutions UK heard the case in a three-day hearing, with a verdict delivered five days later, issuing him with a 12-year ban from WSA events. That punishment was backdated to the beginning of his suspension on 12 October 2012, running through to his 50th birthday on 12 October 2024. He was also ordered to pay £40,000 in costs.Lee’s suspension had been the longest ban ever imposed in the sport, before lifetime suspensions were handed to Chinese potters Liang Wenbo and Li Hang in 2023.He appealed the findings but was unsuccessful and brought the total costs awarded against him to £125,000, which he still needs to pay to the WPBSA in order to return to the association’s snooker tournaments.Express Sport has reached out to the WPBSA for comment and clarification over whether Lee has paid those fines.Lee could play at Q Tour, Q School, or the WSF Championship in an attempt to qualify for the World Snooker Tour next season, similar to Zhao Xintong who recently made a 147 on his return and sealed a Q Tour win in Stockholm.And speaking in 2022, Lee hinted that he may follow in the Chinese star’s footsteps by competing again. He told The Mirror: “I must get asked this weekly, daily, minutely. I would like to say no, but I am still capable of playing. Let’s see what happens in two years. It’s not a no, and not a yes.“We can only just see what happens in a couple of years’ time. I have some exciting things coming up, and I’m also getting older. My eyes are getting worse, and I never had good eyes to start with. As you get older the determination and the fire goes.”However, earlier this year, Lee downplayed that suggestion and instead claimed that he would be focusing on his son Alfie’s snooker career.When asked the question about his comeback on Facebook, Lee replied: “Not a chance of it my friend. I struggle to break off nowadays. It’s down to my son now…”