Hossein Vafaei says he wants to 'shut' Ronnie O’Sullivan’s mouth in astonishing attack on former hero

ByEurosport

Updated 17/04/2023 at 13:20 GMT

Hossein Vafaei has continued his verbal battle with Ronnie O'Sullivan ahead of their World Championship match on Friday. Speaking after his brilliant 10-6 win over China's Ding Junhui in the first round, Vafaei said that O'Sullivan is "is such a nice person when he is asleep” and added he aims to “shut” his former hero’s mouth with his performances at the Crucible in an astonishing interview.

Vafaei wants to 'shut' O'Sullivan's mouth as he flames rivalry

Hossein Vafaei has said he wants to "shut" Ronnie O'Sullivan's mouth in an astonishing broadside after setting up a second-round showdown with The Rocket at the World Snooker Championship.

O'Sullivan and Vafaei have a prickly relationship after they had a tense verbal exchange at last year's championship.

Vafaei told O'Sullivan to retire for being "disrespectful" and claimed the seven-time world champion was "not good for the game" , questioning "what has he done for the sport?"

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O'Sullivan appeared to be relishing the prospect of a showdown with Vafaei after his first-round win at the Crucible as he warned "don't rattle my cage" in an interview on Eurosport.

Speaking after his emphatic 10-6 win over China's Ding Junhui on Monday, Vafaei has responded to The Rocket in fiery fashion.

“The Crucible is going to be my home,” began Vafaei in his post-match interview with Rachel Casey.

“I have to play like that and show a performance like that to show the people and shut some people’s mouths. And to show them what I can do.

“This is just the beginning. My best has not come out yet. If my ‘A’ game comes out, I am definitely going to do some damage.”

Asked to clarify whose mouth he was trying to shut, Vafaei was resolute.

“Ronnie O’Sullivan,” he said.

‘Don’t rattle my cage’ – O’Sullivan warns rivals he ‘loves it’ when he’s criticised

Vafaei appeared to reference - and take exception to - O’Sullivan's "don't rattle my cage" interview on Eurosport.

“I was quiet and I was respecting him,” he continued. “But I saw so many people sending some interview or something like that.

"He is what he is. He is such a nice person when he is asleep."

Vafaei had previously referred to O’Sullivan as his hero but has revised that view now.

“Not any more. I was following him and he is such a legend of the sport. No one can play snooker better than him. Absolutely he is a genius.

“But when you go to the personal, when you are following your hero, you want to be exactly like them. It was affecting me, I was disrespecting my family, my people. It is better not to say any more....as soon as I changed my hero I became a better person. I learned how to respect people.

“I know so many young people follow us, want to become like us – I don’t want them to disrespect their family. Like when they grow up, they use a bad word or something like that to their family or their opponent. I am trying to change the players’ mind to respect each other more. This is the game of snooker not boxing.”

Vafaei was in sparkling form in his first-round match as he blew Ding away to the delight of the crowd. Asked by Casey whether he would attempt to get the fans on side during the O'Sullivan match, Vafaei was indifferent.

“I am already the champion – because once you have the people’s heart, it does not matter whether you win or lose.

"There is no pressure on me if I win or lose. If he beats me 13-0, I don’t care – he has been here 40 years. He doesn’t have anything to prove to the people – I already proved myself as well but who can be the better person with the people. That is more important in life.”

In another interview, Vafaei appeared to mock O'Sullivan, telling the BBC that "he always finds excuses, like that for 30 years" before attempting to mimic his voice.

The second-round match will start on Friday, April 21 and will be completed across the weekend.