Shaun Murphy explains why he wants lifetime bans for match-fixing
Murphy knocks out defending champion Vafaei, 14-year-old Gradinari beats On Yee, Williams through
"If any player thinks they can get away with it [match-fixing], by the way, they're completely foolish because we can find it easily," he told Eurosport.
Liang was suspended by snooker chiefs in October before five other players – Lu Ning, Li Hang, Zhao Jianbo, Bai Langning and Chang Bingyu – joined him last week. 2021 Masters winner Yan was banned from competing at the English Open on Monday morning.
"Very dark days for anyone involved in the sport. We're all very disappointed in the news that has come out," Murphy told Eurosport.
"It is very important to make the point that these seven guys are innocent until proven otherwise.
"They must be given every right to a fair trial, to give their side of the story.
"But yes, I've been extremely honest in my opinions. You don't always want to put your head above the parapet in this world we live in.
"But I think anyone guilty of match-fixing, their existence in the snooker world should be over.
"And if any of those players are found guilty, I hope we never see them again."
The English Open in Brentwood, the final major event of the season, has been overshadowed by the gravity of the match-fixing claims.
Chang Bingyu has taken to social media in China to claim he was "bullied, threatened and intimidated" before a British Open match with Jamie Jones in September. He lost the last-32 encounter 4-1.But Murphy believes the sport cannot be seen to go easy on claims of coercion because it offers potential cheats "an opportunity to exploit the game".
"Listen, if somebody has been coerced and bullied and threatened into these things, that's terrible and that needs dealing with," he said.
"That's a criminal thing to be dealt with in the courts. We're just trying to play snooker and look after the integrity of the sport.
"That has to come first. If someone claims to have been coerced, how do you prove that?
"My point is that offers a little, not a way out, but these people who do want to gain an advantage and do want to cheat – and they are a small minority of people we have to make that point – it offers them an opportunity to exploit the game.
"To exploit us, to exploit you guys [the media] who are trying to promote the sport around the world, all the people who try to represent this sport properly.
"It gives them an opportunity to exploit us. We have to stamp it out.
"My ideal scenario is that these guys come out of it with a clean reputation, they get the chance to clear their name and they come out of it as innocent and it has all been a big mistake. It's all been a big misunderstanding.
"That is my absolute dream scenario. Nobody wants to be going through what we're going through. This game is hard enough."
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