'Just words' - Ronnie O'Sullivan dismisses Hossein Vafaei 'retire' attack as other players weigh in
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Updated 16/04/2022 at 06:16 GMT
“I just find it funny. I find everything funny these days,. It takes a lot to get me in a bad mood.” The Rocket was in a cheerful mood ahead of his attempt to win a seventh world title at the Crucible and refused to be drawn on comments from Vafaei who said the snooker GOAT was 'not good for the game'.
‘Crazy really!’- Players react to Vafaei comments about O’Sullivan
Ronnie O’Sullivan has shrugged off criticism from snooker rival Hossein Vafaei who described him as ‘not good for the game’ and told the 46-year-old to retire from the sport.
The Iranian star launched a scathing verbal attack on O’Sullivan, calling the record 38-time ranking event winner ‘disrespectful’ for his perceived negative attitude to the sport and fellow players.
Vafaei, 27, also accused O’Sullivan of failing to use his platform to promote the game: "You’ve been in the situation to make the game bigger, why haven’t you done it?” he demanded.
The comments came just days before the start of the World Championships at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield where both players will be competing as O’Sullivan chases a seventh title, while Vafaei takes part in the main draw for the first time.
Asked about the criticism, O’Sullivan brushed off the outburst and refused to take Vafaei's damning appraisal to heart.
“There is no reaction other than you know, it’s all fun,” he laughed.
“It's all part and parcel of life. You know, just words at the end of the day. We're just gonna have fun.
“I just find it funny. I find everything funny these days,” he added. “It takes a lot to get me in a bad mood.”
Vafaei’s comments shocked the snooker world and with other players descending on Sheffield, many had their say on the controversy.
“Some of the points I agree with,” said three-time world champion Mark Williams. “But some of them were crazy, really.
“Saying he should retire this, that and the other, I mean, the other younger players coming through, the prize money they’re playing for now is because of people like him.
“He was the big draw 10-20 years ago and he's the big draw by far now”.
‘He’s absolutely right!’
Shaun Murphy says he didn’t initially believe the comments were genuine and described them as ‘bizarre’.
“My first reaction was that it was be something they hatched together and staged to get column inches and some attention for them both and to get people talking.
“I thought his comments were bizarre.
"Would snooker be in the position it is without Ronnie O'Sullivan? I'm not sure it would be.”
Luca Brecel backed up Vafaei and said he agreed ‘totally’ with his view: “I was reading it yesterday. And I think he's absolutely right.
“I think it's good to have a guy like that in snooker like Hossein, he just says what he thinks and he's not scared to say it, even if it is Ronnie.
"And yeah, I totally agree with him.”
‘He puts bums on seats’
Far from wanting to see O’Sullivan retire, reigning world champion Mark Selby insisted that he would like to see to ‘the Rocket’ continue for as long as possible.
“Obviously, it's each to their own. Obviously Ronnie is the greatest player to play our game and obviously done a lot for our game.
“He puts bums on seats and sells tickets, which is great for us.
"As a player, we want Ronnie to be playing as long as possible because for me, if I'm winning tournaments, I want to be competing against players like Ronnie.”
Mark Allen also disagreed with the suggestion that O’Sullivan was bad for the game but did hint that Vafaei might have a point about the way the legend conducts himself sometimes.
“I think some things that he’s said over the years you can take with a pinch of salt. I don't even think he believes what he says sometimes, but to say he's bad for the game. No, I wouldn't go that far.
“Sometimes you'd rather say ‘Just keep quiet please, for a minute. Just let snooker do the talking.’ But that's just part of the Ronnie O'Sullivan show.”
O’Sullivan begins his World Championship campaign against David Gilbert while Vafaei faces a tough test in the form of 2019 champion Judd Trump.
With the two players on opposite sides of the draw, they could potentially end up meeting in the final on May 1 should they advance through each stage of the tournament.
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