Shaun Murphy has called for any player who is found guilty of match-fixing to be 'terminated' from snooker, following a recent scandal that has plagued the sport. In total seven players have been suspended from the World Snooker Tour,
Most notably Chinese star Yan Bingtao is included, with the world No.16 the biggest name included in the saga. No players are yet to have been charged by the WPBSA, and remain suspended as the investigation continues.
Commenting on the scandal WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson said: "All of the players are temporarily suspended, sanctions imposed by me as chairman.
"We didn’t know how far it would go, and as the case has progressed more players have become involved. But none have yet been charged, prosecuted or found guilty of fixing matches. But they are implicated. And while that is the case, they are suspended."
With the investigation still ongoing, one man who believes that those who are found guilty should face the severest of punishments is Murphy. Calling for life bans, the Englishman told the Sportsman: "Specifically for players who are found guilty of match fixing, they should never compete on the professional tour ever again.
"A complete life ban – from professional and amateur snooker. Their existence in the snooker world should be terminated. So strong is my feeling on it, it’s part of the reason, a multi-faceted reason, it’s part of why I resigned from WPBSA board many, many years ago.
"You know, I knew too much about what was going on with certain players who were under disciplinary inquiries. As a board director I was privy to information that the media and the public aren’t. For me it will be completely black and white.
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"I know the world has gone greyer over the years, we have gone from an old fashioned black and white view of the world to quite an opaque one, often for the better. But I think cheating is one area where we should be a bit more black and white." Murphy's concerns were also shared by legend Jimmy White, who condemned the recent allegations.
It's a really bad day for snooker," White told Eurosport . "We obviously have to wait for the inquiry. This has to be out of the game, it has to be gone. You cannot have any crooked business in any sport, it has to be ironed out and I'm sure it will be."
