Duo facing fixing charges

Maguire and Burnett: Under investigation

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Stephen Maguire and Jamie Burnett have been referred to prosecutors and could now face match fixing charges after the result of a UK Championship match in 2008.

Strathclyde Police's economic crime unit spent 17 months investigating claims linked to the result of a game between the two Scots in Telford on December 14 last year.

The first-round match at the 2008 UK Championship ended in a 9-3 win for Maguire - a scoreline that had been the subject of unusually high amounts of gambling.

To make matters worse, Maguire, ranked number two in the world, won the match after Burnett failed to pot a black ball that would have reduced his score to 8-4.

Before the match, World Snooker was contacted by bookmakers reporting suspicious betting patterns on the outcome, and it was then the subject of investigations by World Snooker and the Gambling Commission.

Questioned

The pair were questioned by police in August last year but later released without charge. Both men strenuously denied any wrongdoing and have pledged to co-operate with any investigations.

Both Maguire, 29, and Burnett, 34, were referred to the procurator fiscal along with three other men, and the procurator fiscal at Hamilton will now decide whether charges should be brought.

A Strathclyde Police spokesman said: "Five males aged 35, 34, 31, 31 and 29 are the subject of a police report that is being submitted to the Procurator Fiscal at Hamilton.

"It is in relation to the alleged irregular betting patterns associated with the snooker match involving Jamie Burnett and Stephen Maguire at the Maplin UK Championship on December 14 2008."

Maguire is from Glasgow and turned professional in 1998. He won two ranking titles in the 2007/08 season - the Northern Ireland Trophy and the China Open. Burnett, ranked 40th, lives in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.