Comments on: Higgins and Mooney Accused

By: ramie147

ramie147 — Fri, 28 May 2010 08:37:28 +0000

for me playing snooker is a major part of my life and to here this news is unbelievable…cast your mind back though to alex,s statement about the game being corrupt…he wasn,t the only one who knew about this…to suspend john for life would be tragic for the game as he has always been a great role model…this is were he needs support from people who care about him and also the sport which we all love…if he did do wrong surely he can learn from his mistake so lets get together and support one of the most talented players to grace this beautiful game…

By: firebyrd

firebyrd — Mon, 03 May 2010 11:28:04 +0000

Of course NOTW is all about selling their rag, and taking part in creating the news you sell is ethically borderline at best. Still their video leaves Higgins with some explaining to do, and presently he does not seem to be doing the explaining very well.

Even if we assume that he first became aware of the shady side of the negotiations in Kiev, it is hard to see how he felt that going along to the degree depicted in the video would be the best way to get out. I can understand that a face-to-face “no” to what may be a russian mafia branch may not be the best of ideas, but surely agreeing to the deal first and backing out later must be even worse. Also, according to Mooney (*) it seems he had talked with the guys first, and discussed it with John in the hotel *the next morning*, advising to take caution and play along in the meeting. Would not that have been the appropriate time to get out of “Russia” fast, or at least make a few calls back home to insure that people knew about what was happening?

(*) http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/snooker/2010/05/03/you-can-accuse-us-of-being-idiots-but-not-match-fixers-says-john-higgins-manager-pat-mooney-86908-22230082/

By: Andy Hope

Andy Hope — Mon, 03 May 2010 09:48:15 +0000

Is this not entrapment. I would seriously question the motives of NOTW also. All they care about is SELLING NEWS good or bad (the badder the better). This was a well planned and orchestrated set up. Don’t believe all you read. I would trust John over any news Paper. I live In Rochdale and have first hand experience of how the media works. Shame on you NOTW.

By: limey

limey — Mon, 03 May 2010 06:38:25 +0000

So talking about how you might do a crime is as bad as actually doing it? There is a reason the police are not allowed to use entrapment to prosecute people, they have to catch people in the act.

By: Shawerr

Shawerr — Mon, 03 May 2010 06:23:56 +0000

if he had been so scared he wouldn’t have talked about how he would legalize the money. he would have just said yes yes and got the hell out of there

By: Malcolm Clarke

Malcolm Clarke — Sun, 02 May 2010 21:44:32 +0000

Not worth the risk then. I am disappointed for John, and if true, I’m disappointed in him.

By: RobG

RobG — Sun, 02 May 2010 21:43:04 +0000

I think we need to be careful in jumping to conclusions here people!
Remember…. ‘innocent till proven guilty’.
Firstly, ask yourself how did a ‘News of the world’ reporter get in the situation whereby he or she is sitting ‘with’ a ‘group of business men’ in Kiev offering 300,000 euro to John Higgins to ‘throw’ frames. He/She was obviously part of the set-up and that is the appropriate phrase – a ‘set-up’.
Secondly, put yourself in a situation whereby you feel threatned. You also suspect that the people you’re with are part of a ‘mafia’ style gang and they have you and your manager ‘outnumbered’ in a private room while ‘offering’ you a deal?! – The question then is, do you tell them what you think they want to hear and get out of there asap, or do you stand on your moral grounds and risk that they ARE mafia members and risk whatever that outcome would be?

I’m not taking sides here at all, but I think we need to wait and hope that Barry can get this process working quickly… very quickly!

I believe snooker WILL win at the end of this debacle and WILL be stronger for it, but the process has to happen quickly and we need the outcome to get as much media coverage as this revelation did…

By: Claus Christensen

Claus Christensen — Sun, 02 May 2010 18:39:52 +0000

I might have to go watch that video again to remind me that this is real. But could anyone imagine him returning to the world of snooker ever again? John didn’t deny the authenticity of the video in his statement so the consequences are dire: no more matches, no exhibitions, no future commentator gigs, no organisational involvement etc. On top of that his reputation is forever tarnished. Imagine being the best of the best and never again being able to compete. This really is a life sentence.

By: Shawerr

Shawerr — Sun, 02 May 2010 16:58:09 +0000

you might disagree but i think it would be right to suspend higgins for a long long time. just like they did with quinten hann

By: limey

limey — Sun, 02 May 2010 15:00:51 +0000

The key thing for me here is the News of the World journalist involved in this case.

Read this article http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/why-i-am-out-to-nail-mazher-mahmood-474264.html or do a web search for Mazher Mahmood and you will see that his methods to expose people are underhand at best.

I suspect what he has done to John Higgins is another example of such a trap. A man of integrity has been put into a trap from which he can do very little to escape, all to futher the career of a journalist who takes pleasure in being as nasty as he can to tear good reputations into little peices.