Jamie Jones says suspension was 'horrendous' after being cleared of match-fixing
- Published
Jamie Jones reached the last 16 of the 2018 World Championship
Jamie Jones says his suspension from snooker has had a "horrendous" effect on him and his family.
Jones, 30, is waiting to see what his punishment will be after being cleared of match-fixing but admitting to failing to report a corrupt approach.
"It has been hard to come to terms with how my name and image have been wrongly besmirched," said Jones in a letter released by his barrister., external
"I am truly sorry for failing to report what I knew to the WPBSA at the time."
I put my head in the sand - Jones
The Welshman, ranked 39 in at the time, was suspended by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) in October after being accused of being part of a plan to fix a match between David John and Graeme Dott in 2016.
A disciplinary panel found he had not breached betting rules, while ex-professional John admitted fixing two matches in which his opponents were unaware of the plots.
"I came forward voluntarily and informed the WPBSA that I had known an approach that was made to John on 29 September, 2016 by someone not involved in professional snooker, suggesting that John should purposefully lose in a match against Graeme Dott later that day," said Jones.
"I was not involved in that match in any way, I did not bet on the match and have never bet on snooker, in accordance with WPBSA rules, none of which were allegations made against me.
"I admitted in interview and to the disciplinary committee that I failed to report my knowledge of that approach to the WPBSA as soon as was reasonably practicable.
"It was a serious error of judgement and my only ever breach of any WPBSA rule.
"Events overtook me and I put my head in the sand, rather than confronting the issue, which was difficult for a number of reasons in the situation I found myself, but I do not seek to excuse it."
Jones could still face a suspension but his punishment is unlikely to be as severe as compatriot John's, who fixed a 2017 match against Joe Perry in addition to the Dott match. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by his opponents.
"At the time, I did not know of any agreement that David John would actually enter into to lose his match against Dott, let alone that he would go through with doing so," added Jones.
"When he lost his match heavily a few hours later, I was in some shock at having been aware of the approach and feared how people would speculate about my position if I mentioned it."