Peter Ebdon
From ARFOPEDIA
Famously dismissed by Clive Everton
LETTERS OF COMPLAINT
Dear Elaine
As a member of the association, I would like to lodge a formal complaint about another member, Mr. Clive Everton. Through his magazine, Snooker Scene, it is my firm belief that he brings the game into disrepute, in every single issue.
In the February issue, he once again implies that there is division amongst the board and that through myself, Jim McMahon, Tony Murphy and Tony Knowles, we can 'outvote Sir Rodney, Sir Robin Miller and Richards 4-3.'
Firstly, as far as I am aware, we are all fighting for the same cause and that is to have the members best interests at heart, at all times.
Secondly, Mr. Everton states. 'Indeed, the voting figures arouse suspicion that some or all voted for the coup.' This is typical Clive Everton. Very cleverly worded, so that he can throw 'suspicion' in someone's direction, without actually having 'the balls' to actually accuse them of something.
Let me state here, right now, that the vote at the AGM was private. However, I was asked by the Chairman to support the board and that is exactly what I did. I voted for the board in its entirety. To the best of my knowledge, the rest of the board did exactly the same thing.
Mr Everton also states 'the word is, the reactionaries have Ebdon in mind as the next Chairman.' Why is it that I have no knowledge of this?
Surely, once again, Mr Everton is trying to create a division amongst the board and perhaps portray me in an unfavourable light, to the Chairman, in that I am after his job. That is noit the case and is absolute rubbish.
He also throws conjecture at the possibility that a decision has already been made for next year's wildcards on to the main tour, namely Mark Allen and Judd Trump. Where is all this nonsense coming from?
Lat month, he completely abused his powers as a journalist, by attending the AGM as a member and then reporting and quoting from the meeting as a journalist!
And he decided to quote a member, Paul Sweeny, from a private meeting in Prestatyn, in which no notes were taken and Mr Everton himself, was not even present.
I have had enough of his lies, half-truths and spin. Mr. Everton deliberately sensors what people say and chooses to extract snippets of words and phrases, that change the context of interpretation, from the original quotation, leaving his reader with a very cleverly butchered version of what had originally been said. I have said before and I will say again, that Clive Everton is a parasite. He makes his living from snooker and only brings harm to the game.
The Chairman has approached him and asked him to report snooker in a fairer, les one sided fashion. Since then, he has taken no notice whatsoever and when a formal letter was sent by the Chairman, warning him of his future conduct, he replied by attacking the Chairman.
The most sad thing of all, is that Clive Everton does not realise that he is seriously deluded. He wrote recently, in his letter to the Chairman, that, 'Finally, I would reiterate my total commitment to the game, which even my enemies would find difficult to dispute.'
There you have it!
Amazing!
I for one, would question, absolutely, his commitment to the game.
I would like to propose that Clive Everton is brought before the disciplinary committee, to answer the case of bringing the game into disrepute.
It is my firm belief that he does not deserve to be a member of our association. Whether he knows it or not, the majority of our members are absolutely outraged at the nonsense that he writes in his magazine.
I wonder how many potential sponsors down the years, have decided not to invest in Snooker, partially because of the negative press that that man has written, about our sport?
Whether he chooses to accept the fact or not, the present board are working bloody hard to make sure that things are done by the book, in a completely transparent fashion and that the best interests of the members are considered at all times.
Yours faithfully,
Peter Ebdon
[edit] Clive Everton comments:
This letter may say more about Ebdon than it says about me. Perhaps his opinion of Snooker Scene is coloured by its reporting of his excessive triumphalism when he beat Stephen Hendry at the 1995 Masters and Stephen Lee in the 2001 World Championship, of the failure of First Artist Snooker Management Ltd in which he had a 30% stake, or his very public endorsement of the 147 Racing bet placement scheme.
To bring readers up to date, 147 Racing Ltd has been closed down by the Financial Services Authority after 32 months of legal proceedings. The FSA has taken control of about £100,000 that was frozen in bank accounts and is returning it to the syndicate's 300 customers, none of whom were protected by the investor's complaint scheme because the syndicate was not authorised. In any event, this £100,000 is a drop in the ocean in that customers paid some £2.2m into the scheme.
Customers paid a £500 minimum into a betting bank and were "guaranteed" that their betting bank would increase ten fold each year. They paid an initial membership fee of £97 a month which rose to £477 a month after a year.
Ebdon played no part in the management of this business but his very public endorsement of such a dubious enterprise does raise questions over his judgement and thus his suitability to serve on the WPBSA board.
None of Ebdon's allegations against me featured in the 'charge sheet' WPBSA ultimately produced in April 2006. His letter of complaint is, in the legal sense 'privileged.'
Were this not the case, I would certainly sue him for his libels on my professional integrity, in particular his assertion that I have habitually written "lies, half truths and spin."
If he would care to repeat this assertion in a situation which is not 'privileged' he may expect a writ. I have formally notified WPBSA to this effect.
In his anger, Ebdon appears unable to recognise any view or interpretation of events other than his own. In his wild, unsubstantiated and illogical allegations he flouts one of the very rules WPBSA so eagerly quotes against me that "each member shall behave towards other members…with the utmost good faith and treat them with dignity and respect."
Ebdon's allegation of cowardice, lacking 'balls', seems ironic coming from a member of a board which was not brave enough even to disclose his letter of complaint for 12 months. Ebdon himself can prove his 'balls' by repeating his allegations in public.
I am content to allow the weakness of Ebdon's specific points to speak for themselves save to remark that he appears ignorant of the fact that I have been attending and reporting EGMs and AGMs for more than 20 years.
Why does he believe so strongly that these occasions should not be reported by someone independent of the board as this would surely assist the 'transparency' he asserts in his last paragraph as so desirable?
