Allen fined for no-shows

Mark Allen has been fined £2,000 by a World Professional Billards and Snooker Association Disciplinary Committee.

Allen, 26, was accused of breaching his World Snooker Limited contract by failing to appear at five promotional events at or before tournaments since September 2011.

The case was formally considered on May 28, but the Committee sought legal advice before making their final decision, which was handed down on July 26.

A WPBSA statement read: "On Thursday 26 July 2012 the sanction imposed by the Committee was a £2,000 fine and a formal warning in respect of his future conduct. He was also required to pay £1,000 towards the costs of the hearings.

"Media commitments are an integral part of a tournament and are important for the image and commercial expansion of the sport.

"The Committee considered these failures as persistent and serious breaches of both his contract with WSL and the Members Rules."

The fine is the latest controversy to his the Northern Irishman's career. He was fined £250 for swearing at a press conference in at the UK Championship in December as he criticised WPBSA chairman Barry Hearn.

He was fined £1,000 and warned as to his future conduct in March for comments he made about China and the Chinese people.

A fine of £10,000 and a three-month suspended ban followed in June after Allen said he was "disgusted" Cao Yupeng did not call a foul against himself during their first-round match at the Betfred.com World Championship in April.

Allen, who lost 10-6 to the Crucible debutant, also said "blatant cheating" might be "a bit of a trait for the Chinese players". He later apologised.