IAN Doyle, manager of Stephen Hendry, yesterday called on snooker's
governing body to ban Alex Higgins for life.
Doyle, himself a board member of the World Professional Billiards and
Snooker Association, is incensed by Higgins's behaviour during and after
his
9-4 defeat by Hendry in the fourth round of the UK Championship at
Preston's Guild Hall on Saturday night.
Hendry alleges that Higgins used foul and abusive language as they
shook hands after the match and Doyle claims also that Higgins was
abusive towards him during the interval between sessions.
The pair will be making written complaints to the WPBSA, along with
referee John Street, who was also unhappy with Higgins's behaviour
during the match.
''I can't even call him a man,'' said Doyle. ''Sooner or later someone
is going to be hurt by him. Snooker is bigger than Alex Higgins and he
really has to be removed from the game. He is a menace to himself and to
everybody around him. He came up to Stephen before the start of the
final session and said, 'Hello, I'm the devil'. That's intimidation and
it can't go on.''
Doyle will be calling on Steve Davis to corroborate his accusations.
He says Davis, playing on a nearby table, was also verbally abused by
Higgins.
Tournament director Ann Yates said: ''The WPBSA are now awaiting
written complaints from Ian Doyle, Stephen Hendry, and referee John
Street. Chief Executive David Harrison has also asked for a tape
recording of Alex Higgins post-match press conference.''
Higgins was involved in a heated argument with Yates before the start
of his interview, requesting that a BBC television camera crew be
removed from the room.
The 42-year-old Irishman eventually was allowed to speak in front of
the cameras and described the allegations by Hendry and Doyle as
''absolute nonsense.''
''I'm the Hurricane that came from nowhere and made the game
popular,'' he said. ''Now it's being grabbed hold of by a load of people
who are avid, greedy, and the rest.
''I was a boy wonder, 10 times better than Hendry and Davis, and I
will be back to sort these lads out.''
World No.1 Hendry said: ''You just have to ignore it. There is always
an atmosphere when you are playing Alex. He was needling referee John
Street, which was totally undeserved as he didn't do a thing wrong. I
still have respect for Alex as a player but it's hard to have any
respect for him as a person now.''
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