LONDON (AP) — A British newspaper has reported that a noted Scrabble star has been banned from competition for a year for allegedly breaking rules of the popular board game.

The Times said Monday that Allan Simmons has been banned for a year by the Association of British Scrabble Players because of "actions that led to a suspicion of cheating."

Simmons has authored books on the game and contributed Scrabble coverage to The Times for many years. The Times says he will no longer contribute to the London-based newspaper's coverage. It says Simmons violated rules governing how letter tiles are withdrawn from cloth bags during matches.

Efforts to reach Simmons were unsuccessful. He told the newspaper he plans to concentrate on "more important things in life" than Scrabble.