Higgins happy with state of game

John Higgins feels snooker is in safe hands now there is no longer any room in the sport for “grey areas” in terms of discipline.

Three-time world champion Higgins made his comeback to professional competition earlier this month after serving a ban following allegations in the News of the World that he accepted money to throw frames.

An independent inquiry cleared the Scot of match-fixing in September but he was hit with a backdated six-month suspension and fined £75,000 having been found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute.

In the wake of the scandal, World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn launched a new integrity unit for the sport to monitor betting issues and investigate alleged corruption, enlisting the help of the Quest organisation, led by former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Stevens.

Hearn also brought in David Douglas to lead World Snooker’s disciplinary committee and Higgins believes the right environment is being created to help the sport move forward.

“We all know now in black and white what is right and what is wrong for the game – there are no grey areas and everybody knows now what will happen if you step out of line,” Higgins told PA.

“That is great for the snooker players because I think over the years most of them wouldn’t really know the rules.

“At the start of the season we would sign our entry forms and just throw the rules and regulations away, because all we are interested in is playing snooker.”