The WPBSA announced that Allen would be facing a disciplinary committee for swearing when talking about Hearn and that he could be charged with bringing the game into disrepute. Hearn himself responded by saying he was "far too busy to worry about silly little boys making silly little comments". Upon learning that Hearn had been on holiday for the entirety of the event, Allen said it was a "joke" and only confirmed the views which he had expressed earlier in the week. The pair held a meeting in January 2012, to settle their differences ahead of the forthcoming Masters tournament. Hearn said after the meeting that the way he was running the game may not suit everyone, but his concern was the game of snooker in general. Hearn added: "Mark's prize money this year is probably double what he's earned in the last couple of years so I must be doing something right. We had a very frank and friendly exchange of views and in the end I think he saw my point of view, but time will tell." Allen was fined £250 for his actions by the WPBSA later in the month.