World No. 1 John Higgins was banned for six months and fined 75,000 pounds (US$115,900) yesterday but cleared of accepting a bribe to fix snooker matches.

The Briton's claim that he felt intimidated during a meeting in Kiev with an undercover journalist from the News of the World offering money for him to throw a match was accepted. The two most serious charges levelled at Higgins were dropped although he admitted "intentionally giving the impression to others that they were agreeing to act in breach of the betting rules". The Scot's six-month suspension has been back-dated meaning he can continue his career in November.