Mark Allen has vented his frustration over the lack of progress from the new Professional Snooker Players Association, feeling it has been ‘unacceptable’ from the organisation so far.
The PSPA was set up in August this year with a string of top professionals on its players board and with four-time world champion John Higgins as chairman.
It was formed to be an independent body to represent the interests of professional players to World Snooker Tour (WST) and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).
Not too much has progressed since the initial announcement of the PSPA’s formation in August, although lawyer Ben Rees, who is a director of the association, set out some of the organisation’s aims.
Allen is frustrated that more has not happened by this point, praising the response of WST and WPBSA to the new body.
He says the powers that be have been willing to engage with the PSPA, but the fledgling organisation have not been in a position to hold formal conversations.
‘Honestly, as one of the players involved, it’s been very frustrating, from my point of view, and absolutely not on WST or the WPBSA,’ Allen told TNT Sports.
‘The delays at the minute are coming from us and I think it’s unacceptable.
‘It’s just going far too slowly for my liking because WST and WPBSA have been very communicative wanting to set up meetings and we haven’t actually been able to get those set up and that’s disappointing from our point of view because it’s good that they’re willing to engage.’
On what the hold up has been, the Pistol said: ‘The only thing I could say is that lawyers are involved and lawyers don’t seem to do things very fast, that seems to be causing the delays on our end.
‘Simon Brownell [WST CEO] and Neil Tomkins [WPBSA Players COO] have been in contact with the likes of John but we want to keep it official and set up proper meetings, not like a coffee chat like we used to do years ago, we want to set up a proper meeting.’
Speaking to Metro, he added: ‘I feel like we’re being made to look silly and amateurish by the lawyers unfortunately, because they’re so slow at doing anything. It’s really frustrating.
‘As players we’ve been very communicative, we’ve got a lot of ideas we’ve got a lot of things we want to sit down with the WST and WPBSA to discuss, but the lawyers have been slowing things down.
‘It’s very frustrating how urgent we see things compared to them, but it’s out of our hands. There’s a lot more to it than people from the outside thing looking in would expect, but it shouldn’t take this long.
‘If it continues, it’s not something I want to be a part of, if it continues to be as poorly run as it is now.’
Shaun Murphy shared similar frustrations of the slow pace of progress, saying: ‘It’s been very quiet. I’m sure that the guys that are running it are doing things in the background. Bodies like that don’t form overnight.
‘I think it’s taking a while to get going. The conversations that I’ve been part of, it’s not through a lack of want or desire.’
Higgins told Metro of the current status of the PSPA: ‘It’s ongoing just now, it’s just starting off really. It’s in its infancy just now.
‘A few more meetings with some of the boys and we’ll take it from there.’
WST said on communications with the PSPA: ‘We have been ready to speak to the PSPA since we first heard about it at the start of August and our door remains open, be that for the PSPA or for any individual player.’