Snooker player Stephen Lee was reportedly 'taken advantage of' while dealing with financial issues, according to the findings into the former world number five's match-fixing allegations.
The 38-year-old was given a 12-year ban after he was found guilty of fixing seven matches between 2008 and 2009.
It has been claimed that Lee "succumbed to temptation" with regards to cheating due to his financial woes.
According to BBC Sport, the findings said: "These breaches occurred when Mr Lee was in a financially perilous state not entirely of his own making and was finding it difficult to obtain entry to enough tournaments.
"As a weak man in a vulnerable position he succumbed to temptation. I consider it unlikely that he was the prime mover or instigator of the activity. It seems to me likely that advantage was taken of him."
Lee has decided to appeal against the ban.
