TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- The Uzbek authorities closed all billiard clubs nationwide and suspended the activity of the country's billiard association, the group's secretary-general said Wednesday.
The Uzbekistan Federation of Billiard Sports Secretary-General Natalya Glazkova told United Press International she did not know the reason for the ban, but sources said it was implemented as a crime-fighting measure.
Glazkova said officials from mayor's office, tax officials and police, had closed the clubs. They closed both sport billiard premises and so-called "entertainment" billiard rooms.
The federation is responsible for billiard clubs, which organize competitions. There were 18 sport billiard premises in Uzbekistan before the ban.
Players must now play billiards at home. But Glazkova does not know if Uzbekistan will participate in the European open championship in Minsk, Belorussia in November. Previously, Uzbek players achieved good results at international competitions.
"I do not comprehend why it happened," Glazkova said.
She said she hadn't seen any government document that would have approved the attack on billiards.
However, Glazkova hopes that "all will be settled."
The Uzbek authorities didn't disclose the reason for the ban.
Rustam Kurbanov, deputy mayor of Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, refused to explain the closure.
An official from Uzbekistan's cabinet of ministers said he had not seen any document about the ban and the government didn't concern itself with such insignificant issues.
Meanwhile, sources said the ban was connected to a government attempt to crack down on crime. Billiard clubs have reportedly infringed a regulation issued by local administrations, staying open after midnight and selling alcohol without licenses.
All entertainment premises in Tashkent may stay open only until midnight. Moreover, drug dealing and fights have been reported in some billiard clubs.
