[grofvuri]

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/vide...nnel=NOTW:News

MILLIONAIRE World Snooker champion John Higgins is captured here on camera shaking hands on a disgraceful deal to fix a string of high-profile matches after demanding a £300,000 kickback.

The scandal will cast a dark shadow over the final of this year's championship which starts today and disgust the millions of fans tuning into the BBC to watch their sporting idols.




After 34-year-old Higgins' shock defeat in the tournament at the hands of veteran Steve Davis, he flew to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev and in a meeting with undercover News of the World investigators on Friday shamelessly:

• AGREED to deliberately LOSE frames in four matches so that illegal gambling syndicates could clean up.

• HAGGLED over the best ways to cover up the bribe - finally settled at Euro 300,000 (£261,000).

• BRAGGED it was "easy" to fool fans into believing they were watching genuine snooker action.

Astonishingly, the entire deal was set up and agreed with Higgins' agent Pat Mooney, a board memeber of the World Professional Snooker and Billiards Association and one of the sport's top four officials charged with POLICING the game.



At first, Greedy Mooney and Higgins saw the chance of making a legal fortune out of our team, who were posing as businessmen interested in organising a series of events linked to the World Snooker Series - effectively a European Tour of snooker.




But they could not resist the lure of making extra illegal cash on the side from game fixing.
During the 10-minute conversation that sealed their crooked deal Higgins never once questioned the legality or morality of cheating for cash.



Instead he was more interested in how he could HIDE the massive payments he'd get.



Asked by our man if there was any danger he might not be able to deliver on his promise to lose a certain frame, Higgins - who was awarded the MBE for his services to sport - insisted: "It's easy, it's easy!"


Then came the subject of how he'd get paid and he bleated:

"But then I'm thinking to myself how do I swallow 300,000 pounds or Euros coming in. . . ?"



Father-of-three Higgins - who has won the coveted world crown three times and is nicknamed the Wizard of Wishaw - was not worried about the disgrace his tricks could bring on the game.
He was more concerned about covering his back.



Dressed in a pin-striped suit, Higgins at one point even jokingly asked if there were hidden cameras in the plush Kiev hotel suite - little suspecting that every word WAS being captured by our team, who he'd met for the first time just hours earlier.



Having raised the subject of match fixing with Higgins' grasping manager Mooney at previous meetings, our investigators sat down with the two men on Friday morning to sort out the mechanics of the scam.
The idea agreed earlier by Mooney was for Higgins to deliberately lose four frames in separate tournaments. Now the player himself had to rubber-stamp the details. . . Credit, News Of The World.

Link at the top is the video which looks pretty deliberate to me.

EDIT : Now he's been suspended until a full investigation has been carried out.

[Arexytece]

A very dark day for snooker. The timing couldn't be worse either. Really feel sorry for Neil Robertson and Graham Dott. Two great players whose big match is being overshadowed by this.