Ronnie O'Sullivan has been fined £6,000 by snooker's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), for a series of Twitter comments that included claims that match-fixing could be rife. The reigning world champion, who recently won his fifth Masters title at Alexandra Palace, was found to have breached the WPBSA's members rules.
The disciplinary committee assessed comments made by O'Sullivan last September, which he later retracted, referring to match-fixing and a suggestion that he used pills to enhance his performance. An additional tweet was deemed offensive. The WPBSA stated that these comments undermined efforts to maintain the sport's integrity and were damaging to its image.
In a statement, the WPBSA said: 'He was fined a total of £6,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 towards the cost of the hearing. The WPBSA disciplinary committee considered that the comments that were made undermined these efforts and were damaging to the image of the sport. Such behaviour will not be tolerated by the WPBSA.'
Separately, O'Sullivan was fined £1,000 and warned about his future conduct for being 'abusive, insulting and disrespectful' to a referee during the German Masters qualifying tournament in Barnsley on 12 December.
