Ronnie O’Sullivan was asked to explain himself after controversial take on Stephen Lee’s 12-year ban from snooker

Ronnie O’Sullivan was asked to explain his "wholly unacceptable" and "extremely damaging" response to Stephen Lee being found guilty of match-fixing.

Back in 2013, former world number five Lee was banned from snooker for 12 years after being found guilty of seven charges of match-fixing.

It all started after reports emerged from two bookmakers of illegal betting patterns surrounding a match in the 2012 Premier League against John Higgins, which Lee lost 4-2.

The WPBSA began investigating the match, and subsequently brought charges relating to seven further matches against Lee, including one at the 2009 World Championship.

On the morning of September 17, 2013, as Lee awaited his sentence after a tribunal deemed he had fixed seven games in 2008 and 2009, Ronnie O'Sullivan made a series of posts on Twitter.

Taking to the social media platform, 'The Rocket' claimed that other players have fixed games and Lee was "just caught out".

O'Sullivan said: "I've heard there's many more players who throw snooker matches. I suppose Steve Lee was just caught out."

He added: "I just love putting it out there, bring it all out in the open. Nothing like a bit of transparency is what I say. No need to worry if you got nothing to hide. But plenty of people have got loads to hide. That's why there is no free speech. There [sic] hiding."

O'Sullivan would later admit that his remarks would likely get him in trouble with the snooker authorities. "They will prob fine me for talking about it," he added. "They don't like you doing that. Like to keep things under the carpet."

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Former World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn, who is the founder and president of Matchroom Sport, was quick to respond to O'Sullivan's claims.

"We take these type of allegations very seriously," Hearn said in a statement. "We have written to Ronnie asking him to explain his comments and to provide details of any match fixing and the names of the players that he is referring to.

"Clearly, to make these type of allegations without informing the Governing Body through the correct channels is wholly unacceptable and extremely damaging to the sport. We await his response.

"There’s no point in making vague announcements, if he knows something he has a responsibility to be specific and World Snooker will be writing to him on that basis."

Hearn added: "I don’t know what’s behind his tweets. Sometimes there’s nothing behind them and sometimes there is. It’s for him to tell us.

"He’s either got to say 'actually I don’t know anything', or if he knows something then he has a responsibility to tell us and if he doesn’t tell us then he could be brought into disrepute."

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O'Sullivan would later backtrack on his claims in a statement.

“I would like to clarify the comments that I made on Twitter 17th September as they were an instant reaction to an issue which I feel strongly about, namely the integrity of my sport,” he said.

“The news about Stephen Lee’s match-fixing case was eye-opening to all players on the circuit, and sends out a clear message to any would-be cheats.

“I fully support this decision and commend the (sport’s ruling body) WPBSA for taking positive action in this case.”

O’Sullivan said his reference to players throwing matches related to rumours from many years ago. “If I were aware of match-fixing, I understand that it would be up to me to report any fears to the Association,” he added.

“I have no intention of undermining the integrity of the sport that I love and enjoy participating in so much and firmly believe that my tweets were taken out of context.”

More than a decade on and Lee could potentially make a return to competitive action after his ban from snooker came to an end on October 12, 2024.