SNOOKER club owner Adam Quigley has launched a fierce defence of Stephen Lee after his client became the subject of a match fixing probe.
Mr Quigley, who owns Pockets Snooker Club, in Cheltenham, has managed Stephen for two years, overseeing his rise to number seven in the world rankings.
He said Stephen was "devastated" after being suspended by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), pending an investigation into irregular betting patterns for his Premier League match against John Higgins last Thursday night.
Stephen looked likely to tie the match at 3-3, but missed a pink and black combination, leaving Higgins to win 4-2.
The performance of the burly potter, who trains at Pockets, was immediately questioned in a series of tweets by his West Country rival Judd Trump, which were subsequently deleted.
Mr Quigley slammed the player's suspension and revealed Stephen was particularly incensed with the comments of Trump.
"For Judd Trump to tweet that a fellow professional should be banned is extremely unprofessional," he said.
"I have made our feelings clear to the governing body about that.
"Stephen is absolutely devastated. He has worked incredibly hard this year to get back up to number seven in the world.
"I know him and there is no way he would risk throwing everything away by getting involved in match-fixing. He knows the rules and there is just no way he would do it."
Stephen was already facing a probe into similar allegations levelled at him regarding a match in 2010, despite the Crown Prosecution Service indicating last week that they would not be pursuing criminal proceedings.
Mr Quigley added: "Stephen is sick of all this stuff getting thrown at him and feels there are doubts about him every time he misses a ball.
"He has struggled for two and a half years only to be told the CPS would not be making a case and getting some positive news at last.
"Then suddenly something else comes along and he is back to square one.
"He is planning to fight this all the way to prove he is innocent of any of the slurs that have been made against him."
WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson said the governing body had suspended Stephen pending the outcome of their inquiries.
