World champion Ronnie O'Sullivan has said he turned down an offer of 20,000 pounds (US$32,000) to fix a Premier League snooker match.

The five-time world champion, 37, wrote in his autobiography he was approached during a brief meeting in Epping Forest, Essex, 10 years ago.

Nigel Mawer, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association's disciplinary committee, told the BBC: "We are aware of what has been said in the book and will be writing to Ronnie O'Sullivan to ask him to explain his comments."

O'Sullivan wrote: "Someone rang me and said he'd like to meet me over in the forest and have a walk through the woods. I knew the fella, and it was someone you don't want to mess around with.

"What they were offering me, 20 grand, I could get for a couple of nights' work."

O'Sullivan's fellow English snooker player Stephen Lee, the former world No. 5, was banned last month for 12 years for seven match-fixing offenses but is to appeal against his suspension.

Last month, following Lee's ban, O'Sullivan told his Twitter followers: "I've heard there's many more players who throw snooker matches ... I suppose Steve lee was just caught out."