As some of you may have seen earlier, World Snooker have today issued statements regarding Stephen Lee and Mark Allen, concerning matters initially considered by the Disciplinary Committee of the WPBSA on the 28th May 2012, before they were resolved on the 26th July 2012 as set out below…
Stephen Lee statement
On 28th May 2012 the Disciplinary Committee of the WPBSA found Stephen Lee guilty of a breach of the WPBSA Members and Disciplinary Rules in relation to two breaches of contract that directly related to his role as a professional snooker player that led to two County Court Judgements against him.
In order to properly assess the appropriate penalty the Committee deferred the decision on sanction until 26th July 2012 in order to give time for the player to make plans to resolve this situation. On 26th July 2012 an undertaking was given as to how the Judgements would be settled. He was reprimanded and given a formal warning as to his future behaviour.
Mark Allen statement
On 28th May 2012 the Disciplinary Committee of the WPBSA formally considered the case of Mark Allen in relation to alleged breaches of the WSL players’ contract. The circumstances were that since September 2011 he had failed to attend five separate promotional obligations at or immediately before Tournaments as required under his contract with WSL.
The Disciplinary Committee sought legal advice prior to reaching a decision and Mark Allen was found to be in breach of the following Members Rules:
WPBSA Members Rules and Regulations:
Obligations of Members
1 General obligations
1.4 Members must comply with the entry terms and conditions of each tournament in which they have entered (section 1.5 prior to January 2012).
1.3 Each member shall participate in all snooker and billiards Matches, Tournaments and Tours in a fair and sporting manner and shall co-operate with WSL and the WPBSA to promote and develop the sports of snooker and billiards (section 1.4 prior to January 2012).
On Thursday 26th July 2012 the sanction imposed by the Committee was a £2,000 fine and a formal warning in respect of his future conduct. He was also required to pay £1,000 towards the costs of the hearings.
Media commitments are an integral part of a tournament and are important for the image and commercial expansion of the sport. The Committee considered these failures as persistent and serious breaches of both his contract with WSL and the Members Rules.