BBC took cowardly approach to snooker's Chinese betting scandal

Telegraph

05-05-2025

They could barely stop talking about Ronnie O'Sullivan changing his tip, but when it came to tips of a different nature they were strangely subdued.
Or then, perhaps not. In opting for the more muted version of the Zhao Xintong betting ban, the BBC's television crew simply remained loyal to its age-old safety game.
Ban? What ban? What elephant stomping around the Crucible?
Of course nobody expected the controversy to lead the Beeb's output on Sunday and it would plainly have been insensitive if Rob Walker had referenced Zhao's recent past when announcing the protagonists into the arena. And what an introduction it was from the increasingly excitable compere, who no doubt punches the air whenever his eggs are done properly.
However, to all but ignore the issue and sweep it under the table where the rests, extensions, covers and the other dusty skeletons reside? Shameless. And cowardly.
Granted, there is the bigger picture of what a Zhao victory would mean for snooker, with an estimated 150 million Chinese tuning in. If darts has Luke Littler, snooker has no country larger. Yet in terms of his personal story, Zhao's enforced 20-month absence from the sport is surely central and, no, it does not have to be reflected purely through a negative prism.
There will be those who believe he has served his time and feel inspired that he has launched such a rousing comeback since being accepted back onto the baize only in September.
And there will be others who will think he should have received more severe sanctions and wonder how he can be competing on the world stage at a time when he is still not in good standing in his own country.
No matter, which side you are on. These are resonant talking points and should be confronted. Whether it was a command from up high or not, BBC TV essentially took the yellow-spined route. There were brief mentions before the last day. Alas, no segments.
Credit to Rishi Persad, the BBC's ever-professional interviewer, who quizzed Barry Hearn, the majority shareholder of World Snooker Ltd, about what he called the Zhao's 'transgressions'. Hearn mumbled something about the 28-year-old making 'a genuine mistake' and the 'slate now being clean'. And that was that. Onwards.
Except it should not have been, certainly not for the BBC. What made the corporation's apparent television policy all the more baffling, if not infuriating, was that on its website it posted an article that did not shy away from the scandal. Anything but. It even quoted a journalist claiming that a Zhao win on Bank Holiday Monday would be bad for the game.
'I've found the flowery language since his return somewhat befuddling given the circumstances,' Nick Metcalfe said. 'It honestly feels at times like praise has taken the place of scrutiny. Coming so soon after the ban, some of the headlines [concerning a Zhao win] might well be the last thing the sport needs.'
Disagree? Fine. But it cannot be denied this was ballsy stuff for the host channel to publish and we should pray that this apparent editorial disconnect between TV and the internet is broached in the BBC Sport overhaul currently taking place in the background.
This is reality. This is not The Lego Movie ('Everything is awesome when you are part of a team'). And there is absolutely no need for the BBC to sugar-coat anything, regardless of any paranoia about ongoing contracts. It has the biggest platform of all and with such instances is doing its viewers and its own reputation a disservice.
Not to say that other broadcasters are not similarly weak. A memory persists of a Sky presenter conducting an interview with Rory McIlroy, during which he kept the inquisition to birdies and bogeys. At its conclusion, and with the microphone turned off, he said to McIlroy: 'Thanks, I'll now pass you over to these guys who want to ask about your private life.'
This was the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2014. Earlier that week it had been revealed that McIlroy had called off marrying tennis ace Caroline Wozniacki – after the invitations had been sent out. He was plainly emotional yet somehow put aside this mental anguish to prevail that Sunday on the West Course.
It was a remarkable achievement and the split was obviously key in the narrative as was the acknowledgement of the inner turmoil he had to conquer. And we were supposed to shut our eyes and block our ears?
The point is that in their desperation not to offend the talent, TV luvvies forget that these are people, not machines. They are humans with fallibilities and it really is OK to reference these in the context of competition. In fact, that is the job.
Instead, we were forced to listen to a BBC veteran telling us that Zhao's feat was notable due to his 'time away from the game'. We are not children whose father has just been sent down and our mother is informing us he's gone off to spend a few years on the oil rigs. We are grown-ups who deserve to be informed. Because information is good, especially in such a complex case as that of Zhao.
I am in the camp which believes his 'crimes' were relatively minor – he never fixed matches and was only party to frames and games being thrown – and admire the manner in which has restarted his career. Say it loud and say it proud. Redemption can be the most irresistible storyline. And transparency is paramount.