THE ‘MACAU Five’ could be punished with ‘breach of their player contract’ if they appear in this month’s controversial Chinese exhibition.
Mark Selby, John Higgins, Luca Brecel, Ali Carter and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh are preparing to shun the Northern Ireland Open between October 22-29 for a lucrative non-sanctioned event, the Macau Snooker Masters.
GettyJohn Higgins is one of five snooker stars facing action if he competes in the Macau Snooker Masters[/caption]
GettyFour-time world champion Mark Selby is part of the group known as the ‘Macau five’[/caption]
Getty2023 World Champion Luca Brecel is also part of the group[/caption]
In a punchy statement released last night, the World Snooker Tour (WST) claimed it would refer the stars to its disciplinary arm if they go ahead and play in the Far East gambling city.
A spokesperson said: “We do make clear in our player contracts that a player must not do anything that is detrimental to the WST or a WST event.
“It is without doubt that playing in a non-sanctioned event instead of playing in a WST event is detrimental to that WST event.
“If these players decide to participate in the exhibition in Macau, the WST will have no alternative but to refer them to the WPBSA Disciplinary Committee for breach of their player contract.
“And this has been clearly communicated to the players.”
The Sun reported news of the player revolt earlier this week.
WST bosses sent emails and strongly worded letters claiming if the players took part in Macau they would be breaching contracts, harming the game and facing disciplinary action.
However, lawyers representing the players, who have been left unhappy at the heavy-handed approach, are prepared to stand their ground.
They believe the threats are baseless since they did not enter the Northern Ireland event and are instead doing what they want in their own time.
World No1 Ronnie O’Sullivan backed the five, describing WST’s stance as “b*******, trying to scare players like that”.
He added: “This is about players being able to earn what they can and choose how and when they play.”
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