RONNIE O’SULLIVAN HAS branded the decision to allow fans back into the Crucible for the World Championship final this weekend “irresponsible” and motivated by financial gain.
O’Sullivan’s clash with Kyren Wilson, which starts on Saturday afternoon, will be the first to be played in front of a crowd since the opening day of the tournament, following a change in the government’s lockdown rules.
But O’Sullivan criticised the decision, saying: “When you look at other sports like golf, Formula One and tennis, they’re doing the responsible thing, which is playing with no crowd.
“I personally think it’s a little bit irresponsible but I get it from a cash perspective – there’s quite a few quid to make out there, so maybe just cram the Crucible with as many as they can, get a few more seats in there, and let’s take some cash!”
O’Sullivan was at his erratic and brilliant best as he reeled off the last three frames in a row to edge Mark Selby 17-16, albeit employing some safety tactics which clearly riled his opponent.
Referencing a handful of occasions in which O’Sullivan lashed at safety shots or snookers and sent the balls careering around the table, Selby told the BBC: “I think it is disrespectful to me and disrespectful to the game.”
Selby added: “Every time I put him in a snooker he just hit the balls at 100 miles per hour and they could have gone anywhere, I don’t know whether he was just in that frame of mind but I felt he was just disrespectful to me at the table.”
However O’Sullivan, who appeared otherwise intent on turning every post-match media question around to the state of his cue-action, broke his habit to shrug off Selby’s complaints.
Having watched Anthony McGill fail eight times in a row to get out of a snooker in the deciding frame of the other semi-final, O’Sullivan said: “I haven’t got a clue about getting out of snookers – I don’t want to give 40 points away so I’d rather just go for the fluke.
“He’s just feeling a little bit sore at the moment. It’s the semi-final of the World Championship and I understand that. Me and Mark are great friends and I’m sure he sees it the same way.”
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
He is in fire in this tournament, he is non stop
@Seagoat returns: Nonsense
Does he ever not complain. My god he must be one of the most depressing pros ever, including Keane. Makes a fortune out of snooker but is never happy
@s mc: hes 100% right though. and are you saying Keane was wrong about the likes of Milo Corcoran and Bernard O’Byrne sitting in business class while the players were in economy. Each sport need players like this as these organisations/associations will milk every penny they can.
@Ardmore02: how is he right here though? They are allowing 300 in per session. There will be plenty of social distancing and mask wearing etc.
@Brian Dunne: no masks being worn in the theatre. He’s right. Crazy decision to allow spectators attend especially with no masks.
@Julian D’Arcy: yeah, seen that. I stand corrected. Looks a bit mad
When you loose a match it just means you weren’t good enough to win …No excuses .
Rock on Ronnie your mans a bad losser
Used to be my favourite player now I can’t stand the man. Complains for the sake of complaining. “cramming more seats in” nonsense. The venue holds 1200 and they are letting 300 in. He post match interviews are like something a child would say or do, not a 40 + yo man. His constant whining about how the game is run. Just over 10 years ago there was 6 tournaments on the calendar, prize money was crap and the game was on the way out. As a result there is a whole generation missing in pro snooker. All the top players are in their 30s and 40s Barry Hearne reinvented it. Brought in loads of new tournaments and expanded the game worldwide with huge prize money. But still Ronnie whines. I wish he’d just go away like he threatens to every month for 10 years
@Ger: snooker would get very few headlines without Ronnie , he’s the last of the characters to have graced the sport. Love him or hate him snooker is in a much better place while he continues to play.
@King B: I agree. Snooker needs him in much the same way it needed Alex Higgins back in the day. But much like Higgins Ronnie’s behaviour and attitude leaves a lot to be desired. But Higgins had that underdog quality about him whereby we all still cheered him on even after he headbutted a tournament director and pee’d in a flower pot at one tournament. Ronnie on the other hand has few redeeming qualities other than his genius on the table when he’s in the mood. He regularly slags off low ranked players on twitter saying he hates playing “numpties” in early rounds. He has zero class.
He’s like the Kyrgios of snooker, except he’s not rubbish
@Minamino: and way more likeable, at least to me anyway.