Neal Foulds on Yan Bingtao's match-fixing ban – ‘I don’t know what possessed him'

Neal Foulds has given his view after the WPBSA (World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association) Disciplinary Commission handed down a raft of punishments following its investigation into match-fixing. Eurosport analyst Foulds has said he is bewildered by the course of action pursued by the 2021 Masters champion Yan Bingtao, who was banned for five years on Tuesday for fixing four matches and betting on the outcome of several others between 2016 and 2022. Ad Amid a range of punishments doled out pending an appeal to 10 Chinese professionals – which saw Liang Wenbo and Li Hang punished with lifetime bans in the WPBSA’s biggest investigation of match-fixing – Foulds could not understand why Yan would jeopardise his lofty standing in the sport.

SnookerMcManus 'proud' of snooker's 'loud and clear' response to match-fixing scandalYESTERDAY AT 11:34 Yan cannot return to the sport until December 2027 at the earliest after having a ban of seven years and six months reduced to five years for early admission and a guilty plea. The talented 23-year-old former world No. 10 also has £7,500 to pay in costs, says the WPBSA report.

“It is a sad day for snooker and a disappointing outcome,” Foulds told Eurosport. “I have always been a big fan of Yan Bingtao and his game. “I go back to the World Championship last year when he beat Mark Selby (13-10) in a fantastic game in the last 16 and pushed Mark Williams (11-13) all the way, taking so much out of him in the quarter-finals before he [Williams] met Judd Trump in the semis, a match he was so tired before.