• Lee shocked by arrest


    Stephen Lee has been arrested, questioned and released by West Midlands Police investigating allegations of betting irregularaities.


    A spokesman from West Midlands Police confirmed that Stephen Lee was arrested at his home on Thursday and taken for questioning. "This follows a joint operation where West Midland Police have assisted the Gambling Commission, following their concerns about suspicious betting patterns."

    World Snooker, who were unaware of the matter prior to Lee's arrest, commented "We are aware of recent news articles concerning match fixing and are awaiting further reports.

    A World Snooker spokesman went on to say "In instances where the Gambling Commission commences an investigation into a match, the WPBSA will holid its own investigation open, pending the conclusion.

    "However, neither the Commission nor the WPBSA will release information surrounding a betting matter while an investigation is ongoing."

    Thirty-five year old Lee has tumbled down the rankings in recent seasons. 

    Once ranked as high as World Number Five, and briefly the provisional World Number One, Lee has slipped to number 25 in the rankings and has to play one qualifying round before reaching the venue stages of events.

    This is the same slippery slope that other players such as Mark Williams, Graeme Dott, Steve Davis and Matthew Stevens have found themselves in.

    Williams has turned his form around, and got out of the qualifying round after one season. Graeme Dott hopes to do the same. Lee and Stevens are still mired in the battle to regain their top sixteen status.

    Lee, a father of four, from Trowbridge, in Wiltshire, is part of the On Q Promotions stable of players, managed by Paul Mount.

    Mount, who is a leading campaigner and fund raiser for Breast Cancer Awareness, whose players compete in pink-backed waistcoats spoke on behalf of Lee today.

    ''He's dumbfounded that he's been arrested at all, and so am I.

    ''I've been working with Stephen now for about a year and never ever did I or anybody else in our organisation or any of the other players involved in our team of players, not one of us ever thought Stephen was involved in something like that.

    ''It's come as a real shock to all of us. And I one hundred per cent support Stephen and believe that he has not been involved in any way with any cheating or betting irregularities.

    ''He's a lovely man. If you go back a few seasons Stephen was provisionally number one in the world.

    ''He's had a bit of a bad run and at the moment he's down at number 25 in the world.

    ''He's working his socks off to try and get back up the rankings, so the last thing he's going to want to do is be throwing frames away.

    ''He wants to get back into the top 16, and he's not going to do anything to jeopardise that.''

    Ken Doherty commented "It's a huge surprise. There's never been any rumours surrounding him."

    Jimmy White, who is in the same management stable as Lee said "I'm in total shock. I don't believe it."

    Lee spoke to a local newspaper briefly today before attending a meeting with his solicitors. 

    ''I got home really late last night.

    ''I will say that I was treated really badly yesterday, so I'm still in a bit of shock.''

    The authorities haven't specified which matches or events in which Lee competed are under investigation.

    This incident follows on other recent well-publicised allegations surrounding snooker players and betting patterns.

    None have, as yet, been proven. The infamous match between Jamie Burnett and Stephen Maguire is apparently 'still under investigation' well over a year after the match.

    Mark King was recently left out of the Championship League format for 2010 following requests from the book makers. 

    The bookies alleged there had been suspicious betting on his matches in the 2009 event. 

    A claim that King vehemently denies. "I was gutted to be dropped", said King. "I knew nothing at all about any betting. I'm not a betting man at all."

    In a sport as insular as snooker insider knowledge is common and it would come as no surprise for a punter to make a killing, without the knowledge of a player, based on information of a player's cue problem or illness or lack of form.