Snooker icon Ken Doherty has slammed Mark King for “ruining his legacy”.
King, 50, has been banned for five-years by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) for match-fixing. The Englishman had been suspended on March 18, 2023 after suspicious betting was detected around his match with Joe Perry on February 13, 2023.
The former Northern Ireland Open champion has now been banned for five years and ordered to pay £68,299 in costs after being found guilty of fixing his Welsh Open clash. And Doherty has expressed his dismay at how his friend has “tainted” his career.
“I’ve known Mark since he was 10 years of age when I used to play down in Ilford. He used to practice with Ronnie, they came from the same club,” Doherty told Sportsboom.
“I’ve known him for so long. For his career to end like this is very very sad for him and his family, his dad who went around with him for years. He supported me as well, so I was close to the family. I feel sad for them and sad for the game really.
(Image: Getty Images)
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“There’s no room in the game for people trying to make money and throwing matches. Mark King was very well liked among the snooker crowd. He was a very funny guy.
“I know he had a gambling problem. That was well documented and he had help through GA with it. We thought he was past all that. For him to do this, I feel sorry that it had to come to this for him after knowing him for so long.”
He added: “It ruins your career. For the sake of money, he’s ruined his legacy, he’s tainted and will have to live with that for the rest of his life. So will the Chinese players.”
King’s ban comes off the back of one of snooker’s biggest ever scandals as 10 ten Chinese players were banned for varying levels of offences.