Barry Hearn is not holding a grudge against the Macau Five (Picture: Getty Images)
Barry Hearn says he doesn’t blame the Macau Five for chasing ‘selfish’ goals, but has reminded them that they must ‘follow the rules’ in the future.
A group of players sparked some controversy as they chose to play in an exhibition in Macau, China while the Northern Ireland Open was held in Belfast.
Mark Selby, John Higgins, Luca Brecel, Ali Carter and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh became known as the Macau Five as they clashed with World Snooker Tour over their choice to play an exhibition over a ranking event.
The players felt they were free to do so, but WST insisted that playing an exhibition during a tour event would be in breach of their players’ contract.
The exhibition ended up being moved to December so there was no direct clash, but the five players involved had already withdrawn from Northern Ireland so couldn’t play in Belfast, leaving something of a frustrating resolution for them.
Former WST chairman and now honorary president Hearn had been bullish during the disagreement, telling the Mirror: ‘All of these players going to Macau are just selling their souls and themselves down the river for an extra few quid.
‘I am disappointed in how selfish they have been, and how small-minded. I expect these five will be referred for disciplinary action by WST. And then we’ll see whether they get fined, banned or thrown out.’
Now the situation has calmed down, Hearn sounds more sympathetic to the players involved, still suggesting they were being ‘selfish’ but saying he doesn’t blame them for it.
‘It’s really weird, I mean, obviously, they’ve become quite famous, the Macau Five. The media will make out it is a revolt against authority, but it really isn’t,’ Hearn told bettingsites.co.uk.
‘It’s just a question of, when you sign a contract, does it mean anything? The World Snooker Tour is really quite easy to understand. It’s 130 players under contract.
Mark Selby and Luca Brecel both intended to play in Macau (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I think everyone’s quite selfish in life. I don’t blame them, I think it’s human nature. You have a situation where an offer came up to some players to earn more money.
‘We’re happy for people to play in other events, providing it doesn’t clash with something where the WST have made guarantees to sponsors, to broadcasters, to fans.
‘We have to insist on those rules. The Macau Five will get their few pieces of silver at some stage and good luck to them, as long as they follow the rules, we’ll get on fine.’
The World Snooker Tour is back in China this weekend, with the International Championship starting in Tianjin on Sunday, with the Macau Five all involved.
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