Former World Champion fends off match-fixing accusations
Shaun Murphy has had to fend off accusations that he deliberately lost to Indian World Billiards champion Pankaj Advani in the Welsh Open.
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Murphy, 2005 World Snooker champion, battled back from 3-1 down to force a decider but was overcome by young Advani 4-3.
After the game the Yorkshire man received a tweet, from a user whose account appeared to have been deleted subsequently, saying: “Rumours going round you match fixed tonights game Shaun??? Any truth??”
The shocked English cueman replied: “Absolutely not-ouch.”
He later added: “Worst day of my career today, being accused of losing on purpose.”
The 30-year-old Murphy received support from his fellow professionals, with Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen tweeting: “Don’t be silly mate. We all know its a pile of crap!!! Never a more untrue word spoke. Chin up.”
Last year’s World Championship runner-up Ali Carter called Murphy “an asset to the game”, and former world number three Neal Foulds added: “Nobody in snooker believes that of u. Its a 100% non-starter. Great match to watch. As the cliche goes, shame there was a loser.”
Advani will face Graeme Dott or Fergal O’Brien in the next round.
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