The matches that saw Stephen Lee banned from snooker for 12 years ahead of possible return

Former snooker star Stephen Lee could choose to make a controversial return to the sport this year after his match fixing ban expires. But which matches resulted in his initial ban?

The 49-year-old won five ranking titles during his career, but was banned from competing in or attending any WPBSA-affiliated tournament for 12 years back in 2012.

His ban will formally expire in October - on the same date as Lee's 50th birthday.

Lee has appeared to rule out a playing comeback to the sport, telling a fan on Facebook in February: "Not a chance of it my friend. I struggle to break off nowadays. It's down to my son [who plays amateur snooker] now..."

However, should he decide to attempt a return to the World Snooker Tour, Lee would have to come through Q-School next April to earn his tour card, with any ranking points he earned prior to his ban now long consigned to history.

But he could instead enter the World Seniors Tour, which is open to any player aged 40 or over that is ranked outside of the top 64 on the main tour.

And given his recent comments, an entrance into coaching the sport's young players could be another option.

Lee was regarded as one of the most stylish and entertaining players to watch on the tour, and was ranked at world number five at several points between 2000 and 2004.

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However, he was suspended from snooker in October 2012 following reports from two bookmakers of illegal betting patterns surrounding a match in the 2012 Premier League, which Lee lost 4-2.

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

The hearing into those charges - minus any charges relating to the Premier League match, which the WPBSA did not proceed with - took place in September, with Lee found guilty of influencing the outcome of seven matches in 2008 and 2009.

WPBSA concluded that one of the matches being investigated - a 2008 Malta Cup group stage match - was not fixed.

However, he was found guilty of 'accepting payment to influence the outcome of a match' for seven other matches, including a first round defeat at the 2009 World Snooker Championship.

The tribunal concluded that he was 'working with three different groups, who were betting on multiple platforms and the exact score and frame outcomes for matches he played in those tournaments'.

As per BBC Sport, the tribunal concluded that he deliberately lost matches against two opponents at the 2008 Malta Cup, and agreed to lose the first frame in matches against two other opponents at the 2008 UK Championship.

It was also concluded that Lee lost a match by a pre-determined score at the 2008 Malta Cup, and the 2009 China Open.

Finally, it was concluded that he conspired to lose the aforementioned World Championship match.

There was no suggestion that any other player was aware of Lee's involvement.

He was banned for a total of 12 years, despite a lifetime ban being sought, but WPBSA head of disciplinary Nigel Mawer said: "In effect it is a life ban, because I think it is highly unlikely that Stephen Lee will be able to come back to the sport at this level.

"We don't take great pleasure out of that - this is a case of a fantastic snooker player who has thrown it all away through making the wrong decisions.

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"It is only human to have a degree of sympathy for him and it is going to be very difficult for him, but we have to send a very strong message that match fixing is not going to be tolerated."

At the time, the 12-year ban was the highest ever handed out by snooker's organisers for match fixing.

Lee would later appeal against the 'finding of the tribunal, the sanction and the costs awarded', but it was dismissed in May 2014.

Last year, Liang Wenbo and Li Hang were given lifetime bans as part of a group of 10 Chinese players that were all given differing bans from the sport for match fixing and related charges.

Former Masters champion Yan Bingtao was handed a ban of seven and a half years until June 2028, while former UK Champion Zhao Xintong, who did not fix matches but accepted charges of 'being a party to another player fixing two matches and betting on matches himself', is suspended until July 2025.