Stephen Lee Suspension Update
IF you have been reading the thread on The Snooker Forum you would be aware of me trying to get a update on what has been happening with the investigation into Stephen Lee and his suspension, although I can not provide a date when The WPBSA will make a announcement I hope that the information I provide today will help you to see why things are taking time to get to a conclusion.
The investigation is being carried out by Nigel Mawer Chairman of The Disciplinary Committee.
What we all know so far
11th February 2010 – Stephen Lee arrested then bailed as part of a two-year investigation into match-fixing.
2nd October 2012 – The WPBSA was informed by the Gambling Commission that the CPS will not be taking further action in relation to the match fixing allegations against Stephen Lee, made in 2010. The Commission decided not to commence criminal proceedings under the Gambling Act 2005.
The WPBSA will now be allowed access to details pertaining to the enquiry in order to consider whether there has been a regulatory breach of the Governing Body’s rules
12th October 2012 – Stephen Lee suspended by The WPBSA after reports of irregular betting patterns on his match against John Higgins in the Premier League Snooker the previous day.
Take note that Stephen Lee was not only suspended because of the reports from The Gambling Commission about the match on the 11th October 2012 but also for the allegations going back to 2010 that are now under investigation by The WPBSA.
Yes the criminal charges were dropped which basically passed the case back to The WPBSA and The Disciplinary Committee to make a decision if any wrong doing with regards to The WPBSA rules.
23rd October 2012 – WPBSA dismisses Stephen Lee’s appeal against suspension.
So today 3 Months and 6 days down the line (or 0.27 years for the statisticians) where are we exactly? well just because we have not heard anything official from The WPBSA does not mean that things are stagnent in fact quite the oposite, although I can not pass on all of the details I can say that The WPBSA is waiting on information pertaining to the original investigation, this is taking more time than suspected because of a data protection issue which is quite understandable when transferring documentation from a criminal to a civil investigation.
I can only assume the reason for this being that information gathered by the criminal investigation would be the type of data that would usually not be available in a civil investigation hence the data protection problems.
The WPBSA are very keen to progress this matter for the player and for the sport as soon as possible.
