John Higgins denies admitting match-fixing allegations
John Higgins and his manager Pat Mooney have refuted claims that the player has admitted to being guilty of match-fixing.
Earlier today, sources had claimed the former world champion had admitted the match-fixing claims, but Higgins' agent Jim Cassidy has insisted those sources are wrong, and that Higgins, who is the subject of an independent tribunal which starts today, is still fighting to prove his innocence.
Higgins and Mooney were the subject of a sting by the News of the World newspaper in May of this year, Higgins attending a meeting with undercover NOTW reporters where he allegedly offered to lose games deliberately in return for cash.
Video footage of the meeting, filmed without Higgin's knowledge, subsequently appeared on the newspaper's website.
The 35-year-old was immediately suspended from playing the sport, while his manager resigned from a position on the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. However, Higgins and his manager have insisted the allegations were false, Higgins denying he had ever been involved in match-fixing and claiming he pretended to play along with the people he had met because he feared they were members of the Russian Mafia who might have harmed him.
Higgins hopes to clear his name at this week's tribunal, allowing him to return to the sport.
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