Matthew Selt fined £3,000 following social media spat
Matthew Selt looks on (Photo credit: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo)
Matthew Selt has been fined £3,000 after sending abusive private messages to a fan on social media.
The incident took place during the Betfred World Snooker Championship in April when Selt became embroiled in a spat with a follower on Instagram.
Selt, who was unaware of the fan’s autism, launched a barrage of insults and expletives after the latter replied via direct message to a story of his about Ronnie O’Sullivan’s reaction to missing a black during a match at The Crucible.
The messages were considered to be ‘abusive, insulting, upsetting and disrespectful’, and were subsequently put into the public domain and then published in the media.
The content of the messages were considered to be a breach of the WPBSA Members Rules and the Players Contract, and were deemed to have ‘brought the sport into disrepute.’
At the hearing, which took place in June, Selt was said to be deeply apologetic and regretted his actions.
Nonetheless, he was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay a further £1,000 in costs towards the hearing. He was also warned as to his future conduct to ensure no similar breaches occur.
Selt turned professional in 2007 and has been an ever-present on the tour since, picking up a maiden ranking title at the 2019 Indian Open and making three World Championship appearances.
He reached the final of last season’s Turkish Masters, losing 10-4 to Judd Trump in the final.