Hossein Vafaei told by Jimmy White to 'do talking on the table' after comments about Ronnie O'Sullivan

ByNigel Chiu

Updated 17/04/2023 at 21:23 GMT

Hossein Vafaei’s astonishing broadside on Ronnie O’Sullivan ahead of the pair’s second-round showdown at the World Championship has left snooker fans impatient to see the players face-off at the Crucible on Friday. Eurosport experts Jimmy White and Alan McManus have given their take on the situation and whether it will effect either player in their best-of-25 encounter.

Jimmy White says he would rather Hossein Vafaei “do his talking on the table” after the Iranian claimed he wants to “shut” Ronnie O’Sullivan’s mouth.

Vafaei beat Ding Junhui 10-6 with an impressive second session display to set up an eagerly-anticipated clash against O’Sullivan in the second round.

It comes 12 months on after he told The Rocket to retire for being “disrespectful”, with O’Sullivan warning his snooker rivals to “not rattle my cage” following his opening round victory on Saturday.

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“He’s obviously not happy with O’Sullivan,” White told Eurosport. “I don't think O’Sullivan will rise to it. I think he just focus on his game but there seems to be a bit of needle there for sure.

“I think he's too professional, is Ronnie. He will just get on with his job. I don't think there's any animosity between Ronnie and Hossein, I think it's just red tops talking.

“I don't think [O’Sullivan] will use any of this press or this sort of banter in any way, shape or form.

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

“If Hossein thinks it can help him, then so be it, but it could reverse on Hossein. So, I'd rather him just do his talking on the table. It's all nonsense to me.”

Vafaei said O’Sullivan is “such a nice person when he is asleep” and that the seven-time world champion is no longer his hero.

The last meeting the pair was 18 months ago in qualifying for the German Masters when O’Sullivan was whitewashed 5-0 by the Prince of Persia. In that match, O’Sullivan smashed the reds open on the break-off shot at 4-0 down.

Their second round match at the Crucible will begin on Friday at 14:30 live on Eurosport and discovery+, with two more sessions on Saturday and Sunday.

Eurosport expert and former Masters champion Alan McManus says he was slightly “bewildered” by Vafaei’s post-match comments on Monday and suggested something may have gone on in the background.

“I'm thinking back to a few years ago when I think Hossein was spending a lot of time in the south,” explained McManus.

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‘A dangerous game’ – McManus and White react to Vafaei’s broadside on O’Sullivan

“I think Ronnie sort of took him under his wing, not in a big way, but he was friendly with him - Ronnie's friendly with pretty much everyone on the circuit as far as I've ever seen and maybe that’s changed.

“It’s only guess work on my part. It’s a very strange situation. Let’s be honest though, it’s going to be good isn’t it! It’s going to be brilliant viewing and there’s a lot more to this match than the best-of-25 frames – the handshake is going to be interesting at the start.

“As a snooker player, you're out there on your own. “You're a one-man band. It's alright being friends, or not being friends, but you've got to shake it off.

“You've can’t live on the words of any opponent, you’ve just got to shake it off and say, ‘he can say what he likes’. It’s a strange one, there’s going to be fireworks.”

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

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