Ronnie O’Sullivan has blasted a potential opponent at the World Snooker Championship who told him to retire for being ‘disrespectful’. Iranian player Hossein Vafaei, who could play the reigning champion in the second round at the Crucible if he overcomes China’s Ding Junhui, made the comments last year.
O’Sullivan overcame Pang Junxu 10-7 in his first round match and was asked about his potential next opponents on Eurosport, where he is working as a pundit. Fellow studio guest Alan McManus replied: ‘I think he said you should retire.’
Vafaei claimed seven-time world champion O’Sullivan was ‘not good for the game’ and questioned ‘what has he done for the sport’ in a stunning outburst. Now the pair are on a collision course though Vafaei will have to overcome a 5-4 deficit against Ding in their first-to-10 match which concludes on Monday.
The Rocket continued: ‘Has he been saying much this year? I think he’s learned to be quiet. Don’t rattle my cage! I’m just having fun. I love it when they call me out, I love it when they give me stick. Vafaei had said 12 months ago: ‘Listen, he does’t need to remind us he’s won 20 major tournaments. To be honest, Ronnie O’Sullivan without his team, without the people who are around him, he wouldn’t be here at all. He wouldn’t be here at all.
‘I love it, it turns me on, I get off on it. I need it to fire me up so I’m hoping someone says something, so I can have a reason to perform.‘But they’re not going to say it now, they probably realise it’s not a good tactic.’
‘He’s comparing himself with someone else. He’s comparing me with someone else. I don’t like that. We don’t have to compare ourselves to others. ‘He’s saying “you are poor, I am rich, I am Ronnie O’Sullivan.” I don’t like that. ‘I think he should retire to be honest with you. He should retire and then the younger generation make the game bigger. ‘I don’t see any improvement, he’s been 20 years on top of this sport and what has he done for us?’
‘I have money my people in Iran have money, but we have to respect human beings as well. I don’t want to get involved in that kind of conversation really. ‘I like him a lot, I am his fan, I love what he does but sometimes he is disrespectful, he’s not good for the game. O’Sullivan, 47, went on to defeat Judd Trump 18-13 to win his seventh world title, drawing level with Stephen Hendry.
