Australia’s Neil Robertson and snooker great Steve Davis both came to the defence of Chinese players after their integrity was called into question by Mark Allen. The Northern Irishman made his controversial comments after suffering a first round World Championship defeat by China Cao Yupeng at the Crucible Theatre here on Sunday. Allen was adamant Cao, who won 10-6, should have called a foul against himself during the opening frame of Sunday’s session when the Chinese was just 5-4 ahead.
He then risked further controversy by saying: “It seems to be a bit of a trait for the Chinese players because there’ve been instances in the past, of fouls and blatant cheating going on. It needs to be corrected.” China is seen as a huge growth area for snooker. But Allen has already upset Chinese snooker chiefs this season, saying Hainan, the island venue for the World Open, was “horrendous” and the people “ignorant”. Robertson, world champion in 2010, said: “We are going out there more and more each year, so it’s always good for the players to be on good terms (with the Chinese), especially as they’re putting a lot of money into the sport,” “Sometimes things happen that maybe you don’t like, but you’ve just got to get on with it,” the Melbourne-born left-hander added.
“I haven’t played too many (Chinese players). “I’ve played Marco (Fu) and Ding (Junhui) and there have been no problems. “I think snooker and golf are probably the highest up there in terms of sportsmanship, with players declaring fouls or penalties on themselves,” the 30-year-old said. Allen’s outburst came a day after China’s Liang Wenbo was praised for admitting a foul in the decisive frame of a dramatic 10-9 defeat by defending champion John Higgins.
Six-time world champion Davis said the incident that had angered Allen, who accused Cao of a “blatant” push shot, was “arguable” and replays were inconclusive. Davis, asked if Chinese players were especially prone to cheating, replied: “I don’t think so.” He added the present situation may have been inflamed by former world semi-finalist Allen having to go straight into a press conference immediately following his defeat. “It was obviously Mark coming straight off the back of his disappointment of losing, and it’s something we’ve discussed before, that players are required to go almost straight into the press room straight after, and they are at their most vulnerable.
“He obviously questioned his opponent’s integrity. “In football you see players falling over fresh air, you see people handling the ball and not owning up to it.
