Following his defeat at the 2012 World Snooker Championship to Chinese qualifier Cao Yupeng, he openly accused his opponent of cheating and unsporting behaviour for not owning up to what he perceived to be a foul. Allen attributed the deception to his perceived cultural differences between British and Chinese players, purportedly with incidents involving Chinese professional Liang Wenbo and Hong Kong's Marco Fu. Barry Hearn confirmed that Allen would once again face a disciplinary process and said that the player's actions had left him "speechless". Allen was fined a total of £11,000 and warned he would be suspended from the tour for three months if he breached the rules again in the following six months. He was also required to undergo media training.