Belgium’s Frédéric Caudron Engaged in Legal Battle with Professional Billiards Association (PBA)
The renowned billiards player, Frédéric Caudron, widely cherished by domestic billiards fans as the ‘Billiards Emperor,’ has become entangled in a legal dispute with the Professional Billiards Association (PBA) based in Korea. Caudron’s sudden departure from the league this season has been met with controversy.
The PBA secretariat has responded to Caudron’s claims, stating, “Some of Caudron’s assertions differ from the actual facts. We plan to take legal action, both civil and criminal, against any defamatory comments made unilaterally by Caudron that tarnish the reputation of the PBA.”
In a remarkable feat, Caudron secured his eighth championship title at the second PBA tour held in Ansan last July, becoming the first male player to exceed 1 billion won in accumulated prize money.
At the conclusion of the tournament, an incident took place involving Caudron’s personal supporter. The supporter expressed dissatisfaction while taking a commemorative photo with Cambodia’s Throng Piavi, winner of the women’s division, and subsequently disrupted the press conference room, expressing their protest.
Caudron later broke ties with his team, Welcome Savings Bank, in the middle of the season due to a failed agreement. Caudron’s desire to focus on individual tours rather than participating in the team league was not approved by the PBA secretariat, who cited their rule that limits participation in the individual PBA tour for players refusing team league involvement.
Subsequently, Caudron terminated his contract with Welcome Savings Bank, left Korea, and recently lodged an injunction with the Seoul Central District Court to allow him to resume participation in the game.
Taking to his Facebook page, Caudron voiced his grievances, claiming, “I have not received payment for two years while playing in the team league, and it is unjust to prevent me from pursuing personal ventures solely due to my absence from the team league.”
Emphasizing that his requests for compensation were not unreasonable, Caudron argued, “The contract was not terminated by me, but rather by the PBA. I feel regretful towards my Korean fans and hope to have the opportunity to reunite with them in the future. I simply wish to continue playing.”
The PBA secretariat responded, criticizing Caudron’s refusal to partake in the team league while solely pursuing individual tours. They deemed this behavior as self-centered and disregardful of the foundational principles and financial stability of the PBA.
Moreover, the PBA secretariat revealed that Caudron made unreasonable demands, including requests to prohibit his participation in team league mixed doubles, refusal to partake in official events and videos, deletion of all photos and videos featuring other female players from the official PBA channel, and unwillingness to film with female players.
Photo credit: Provided by PBA Tour, Yonhap News
▲ Caudron won the PBA championship
The professional billiards association PBA is involved in a legal battle with Belgium’s Frédéric Caudron, who was loved by domestic billiards fans under the nickname ‘Billiards Emperor’ but left Korea suddenly this season.
The PBA secretariat said, “Some of what Coudron claims are different from the facts. We intend to file civil and criminal lawsuits against comments that defame the PBA through unilateral claims.”
Coudron won his 8th championship in the 2nd PBA tour held in Ansan last July, becoming the first male player to surpass 1 billion won in accumulated prize money.
After the tournament ended, a personal supporter of Throng showed signs of discomfort while taking a commemorative photo with Throng Piavi of Cambodia, winner of the women’s division, and broke into the press conference room to protest.
Coudron left the league later in the middle of the season due to a failed deal with his team, Welcome Savings Bank, before the third tour.
Caudron expressed his desire to focus on the individual tour instead of participating in the team league, and the PBA secretariat did not allow this by applying the rule ‘if a player refuses to participate in the team league, his participation in the tour individual PBA can be limited.’
In the end, Coudron broke his contract with his team, Welcome Savings Bank, left Korea, and recently applied to the Seoul Central District Court for an injunction to allow him to participate in the game.
Caudron posted on his Facebook page, “I haven’t been paid for two years while playing in the team league, and it’s unfair to stop me from going on a personal trip just because I don’t play in the team league.”
Caudron said, “I never asked for excessive money, I asked for money that I did not receive. It was not me who canceled the contract, it was the PBA who broke the contract. I feel sorry for the Korean fans. I hope to see you again one day.” “I hope to be able to play,” he said.
In response, the PBA secretariat criticized, “The team league is the basis for the existence of the PBA tour. Coudron’s refusal to play the team league and saying that he will only play on the individual tour is a selfish act of ignoring the foundation of the PBA and just take the prize money.”
In addition, the PBA secretariat said, “Caudron made unreasonable demands, such as banning him from participating in team league mixed doubles, refusing to film official events and videos, deleting all photos and videos taken with other female players on the official PBA channel, and refusing to film with female players.” He claimed that
(Photo = Provided by PBA Tour, Yonhap News)
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