A taxi driver who claims Scots snooker ace John Higgins bolted without paying his £5 fare has vowed to go to the police unless the money is paid.
It comes after a man, claiming to be the four-time world champion’s manager, spoke to the Daily Record and launched a blistering attack on cabbie James Crawford branding him a “desperate and bitter man”.
We told today how Higgins fell asleep in the back of the taxi on the way to his hotel in Belfast after a boozy night out on Tuesday.
James, 57, said Higgins woke up and ran from his taxi without paying when they finished the short journey.
Today, we called Higgins’ so-called manager after sourcing the number from calls made to James’ phone after the taxi incident.
The man, who refused to give his name, said: “There is no truth in this. These are just the claims of a desperate taxi driver and a bitter man.”
The individual also said he was in the taxi with Higgins and paid the fare himself.
He went on to accuse James of lying in a bid to make money from blackening Higgins’ name and also branded him a “bigot”.
He said: “That driver just wants to make money from this made up story - and this is really about religion.
“Everyone knows John is a Celtic fan and this taxi driver is just a bigot.”
Higgins, 44, is one of the most successful snooker players in the history of the sport.
Since turning professional in 1992, he has won 30 ranking titles, including four World Championships and three UK Championships, as well as two Masters titles.
Now James has hit back at the man who calls himself Higgins’ manager and is standing by his claims of the pro-player’s drunken fare-dodging.
James said: “If he’s accusing me of lying then I’ll take this to the police and we’ll settle it in court.
“I have a witness and I can get my solicitor request CCTV from outside the hotel. If they want to go down that road, I’ll fight it.
James also rubbished claims that he's a bigot as 'ridiculous'.
He said: "I know John Higgins as a snooker player. I wouldn't know what team he supports or his religion and he wouldn't know those things about me."
The manager also denies James' claim that he requested a meeting with him on Thursday night to 'sort him out' with the money over the unpaid taxi fare.,
The manager said: "That's absolute nonsense. I didn't call him and I don't know how he got my number. But you people can believe what you want."
The Daily Record have seen a call log on James' phone which lists calls from the same number we contacted the individual on.
We have also been unable to reach John Higgins directly and the person we spoke to said he does not wish to comment on our story.
