Chinese snooker star Yu Delu banned 10 years for match-fixing
- Yu’s punishment is the heaviest since England’s Stephen Lee was banned 12 years in 2013
- The former world No 41 is one of two Chinese players to be punished for fixing with Cao Yupeng receiving a six-year ban
China’s Yu Delu has been handed one of the heaviest punishments for match-fixing after the Shanxi-born player was banned from snooker for 10 years and nine months.
The 31-year-old, who reached his highest world ranking of 41 in May, was banned by the international governing body of snooker after the result of a two-year investigation into match-fixing.
Fellow mainlander Cao Yupeng received a six-year ban after he pleaded guilty to fixing, although 3 ½ years of his sentence are suspended. The Chinese pair are the first from the mainland to be banned for cheating. They were investigated after suspicious betting patterns in numerous matches were investigated over a two-year period. The duo had already been suspended from playing in May when the cases were being investigated.
Yu’s punishment is second only to Englishman Stephen Lee’s punishment in 2013 when he received a 12-year ban for match-fixing. Lee made headline news this year when he was caught teaching snooker in Hong Kong without a work permit in June but the case was dismissed in court and he was allowed to return home but was bound over for 12 months for the sum of HK$1,000, meaning he is to refrain from committing or attempting to commit any crimes.