Stephen Maguire and Jamie Burnett have been released without charge after police questioning over alleged irregular betting patterns.
Snooker stars released without charge after questioning
Scottish snooker stars Stephen Maguire and Jamie Burnett have been released without charge after being questioned by police over alleged irregular betting patterns.
Burnett and Maguire were detained by Strathclyde Police on Thursday and questioned about their controversial UK Championship match last December, which attracted alleged irregular betting patterns over the scoreline.
World number two Maguire registered a 9-3 victory in their first-round encounter in Telford last December, a scoreline which had come in for some unusually large gambles before the match.
Bookmakers contacted the game's governing body World Snooker before the match and when the score did finish in that 9-3 scoreline, investigations by the sport's governing body and the Gambling Commission were conducted.
The controversy was heightened by the manner of the victory for Maguire, as Burnett missed a simple black in the 12th frame which would have scuppered the bets and made it 8-4 at the time.
Denied wrongdoing
Both men have denied any wrongdoing and Burnett said he missed that pot as he was made aware of the gambling patterns during the match and the pressure had proven too much.
Strathclyde Police, whose economic crime unit is investigating, confirmed that both men had been taken in for questioning, adding the pair were released without charge.
They added that inquiries were continuing and a report would be submitted to the procurator fiscal.
A spokesman for World Snooker said: "We are aware that Stephen Maguire and Jamie Burnett were detained today by Strathclyde Police, and that both were subsequently released without charge.
"This is currently a police matter and we await developments. There will be no further comment at this stage."
Maguire statement
In a statement issued by his management company, 110sport Group, Maguire said: "I have nothing to say other than I can be doing without this.
"I wish this was over and done with and that I didn't have these allegations hanging over me so I could concentrate entirely on playing snooker.
"All I want to do now is forget today and concentrate on preparing for playing in China next week."
Maguire's legal representative Peter Forbes said: "Police spoke to Stephen, their questioning and points put to him based upon information given to them during their initial interview with my client in the spring of this year.
"Having answered those questions, Stephen was released without charge."
Meanwhile, World Snooker have announced that Peter Ebdon and Liang Wenbo have no case to answer following similar allegations centring on a match at last year's Northern Ireland Trophy.
The Gambling Commission investigated claims surrounding the match and have decided neither player will face any action.
