Shaun Murphy has given his take on the debate around Stephen Lee's potential return to the World Snooker Tour.
After being found guilty of match-fixing in 2012, former world number five Lee is free to play competitively following the end of his 12-year ban on Saturday, October 12.
Earlier this year, Lee appeared to rule out a comeback to the sport. He responded to a fan on Facebook, saying: "Not a chance of it my friend. I struggle to break off nowadays. It's down to my son [who plays amateur snooker] now..."
But speculation around a snooker return continues to be a talking point. In fact, current world number eight Shaun Murphy has spoken about the topic in detail on an episode of the OneFourSeven Snooker podcast,
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When asked about the possibility of a comeback for Lee, the 42-year-old said: “I don’t think so, not until he pays his fines which are outstanding to WPBSA in the legal costs and all the rest of it.
“But we live in a society where you do the crime, you do the time, and everyone is entitled to a second chance aren’t they?”
Lee reportedly owes the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association [WPBSA] a sum of £125,000 in legal fees related to the court cases and unsuccessful appeals from a decade ago, according to SnookerHQ.
Murphy, who lost the Welsh Open final to Lee in 2006, was full of praise for his former opponent.
“He was an incredible player, the Rolls Royce cue action and just a great guy off the table, never had a cross word with him. A beautiful player to watch, a winner," Murphy said.
“He beat me in the final of the 2006 Welsh Open and won many, many ranking events. A real great player and I think at the time of his suspension, he was number two in the world.
“He’d had a bit of a resurgence but there were some suspicious betting patterns I think and there were some suspicious mass matches and it got flagged.
“WPBSA felt he had a case to answer and he went through that process and he was deemed to have broken the rules in a significant manner.
“He was handed out an extremely firm penalty of 12 years, I think at the time - I might be right in saying and I am going to sit on the fence when I say this - I think if World Snooker or WPBSA had had the ability to ban him for life, I think they would have done.
“That ban doesn’t exist and I think they felt like a 12-year ban was pretty much career-ending."
Murphy added: “As you say, that ban is now gone. He’s served his time, he’s been away from the game for 12 years, I can’t believe how quickly those 12 years have gone.
“I’m sure Stephen Lee doesn’t think they have been quick and he’s been through some trauma away from the table and it’s been a difficult time for him, I’m absolutely certain of that.
“But his path back to the tour isn’t obstacle-free. He has over six figures in fines and costs to pay before he can even think about returning to the sport.
“So he’s served his time, he did the crime, served his 12 years and if he pays the money that he owes, he’ll be free to come back to try his hand at the game.
“I’m not sure of the exact figure he owes but it’s a big number... let’s put all of that to one side, we’re talking about someone who was a wonderful snooker player."
If he is to attempt a return to the tour, then Lee would have to go through Q-School to earn his tour card.
Topics: Snooker
Jack Kenmare