UK Championship 2021: Shaun Murphy apologises to opponent Si Jiahui over amateur rant following shock loss
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Updated 28/11/2021 at 09:57 GMT
“I think if I could go back in time I perhaps wouldn’t have said what I said." 'The Magician' suffered a shock first round defeat at the hands of Si Jiahui and reacted by claiming amateurs have no place at the top level of snooker. Murphy maintains his stance but apologised to his opponent. Stream the UK Championship and much more top snooker action live and on demand on discovery+
Murphy was ‘85% wrong’ with rant on amateur players – McManus
Shaun Murphy has said he regrets the timing of his rant about the inclusion of amateur players in snooker’s biggest tournaments but "stands by" his point of view.
Murphy suffered a shock first round defeat to Si Jiahui at the UK Championships in York and afterwards ‘The Magician’ complained that his opponent "shouldn't even be in the building".
The comments received a mixed reaction from fellow players with some supporting Murphy while others insisting his stance was wrong.
Murphy’s outburst has been the main talking point of the first week of the tournament but he now admits he may have mistimed his complaints and apologised to his opponent.
“I think if I could go back in time I perhaps wouldn’t have said what I said, having just lost to Si Jiahui,” he told the BBC.
“I think it took the shine off his victory and I regret that, and I’d like to apologise to him for that.
It was a great win, he played really well. He played better than I did and he deserved his victory.
However, the former world champion maintains his opinion that Si and other amateurs should not be allowed to compete at the highest level and pointed the finger at snooker’s organisers for bowing to commercial pressures.
“Listen, I stand by my point of view. I don’t think amateur players should be allowed to able to play in professional events,” he added.
“Ultimately the powers that be, Steve Dawson (chairman) and his team at World Snooker Tour, they’ve been very clear on the commercial reasons why we allow amateurs and top ups into the game.”
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