Shaun Murphy defends Crucible after 'almost sacrilege' Hossein Vafaei criticism; John Higgins says move 'inevitable'

Published 23/04/2024 at 10:03 GMT

The Crucible has come under fire this week from Hossein Vafaei, who said the World Snooker Championships venue "smells really bad" and is not as nice as other arenas on tour. Shaun Murphy said Vafaei's comments were "almost sacrilege", while John Higgins has admitted the World Championships are likely to leave the Crucible in the future despite it being the "best place to play snooker".

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Shaun Murphy has defended the Crucible after stinging criticism from Hossein Vafaei, as John Higgins has said a move away from the venue is “inevitable”.

Vafaei caused a stir by saying the Crucible “smells really bad” and pales in comparison to other snooker venues around the world.

The Crucible has been the home of the World Snooker Championships since 1977 and is the most famous arena on the tour.

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Eurosport experts Jimmy White and Alan McManus both hit back at Vafaei’s criticism, and now former world champion Murphy has had his say.

“It’s almost sacrilege for a professional snooker player to be so openly critical of our home,” he said.

“Hossein should educate himself on how our tour works in relationships with the World Snooker Tour (WST) and our broadcast partners, our venues and how special this place is.

“Does he think he is helping our sport grow by being so openly critical? He has not helped the sport at all. I was always taught by my mum if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything.”

Murphy was speaking after his first-round victory over Lyu Haotian.

He added to the BBC: “This is a working theatre, it’s not a purpose-built snooker venue. If the WST turned up tomorrow and did a site visit, they would probably not come here because it’s not big enough, but there’s nothing we can do about that.”

The current contract at the Crucible expires in 2027 and it has been speculated that a move could be on the horizon.

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Four-time world champion Higgins thinks it is “inevitable” that the event will leave the Crucible.

“The landscape of the snooker world will have changed in three years,” he told the BBC.

“I'm just lucky that I've won it here. It will be sad to leave, it's been a massive part of my life.

"I think if you asked other players who have never lifted the trophy here, that would be something they would probably regret for the rest of their lives.

"The bank balance might not say that [for future winners], but if you look back on the history and the champions before them, they would love to have won it here because it's special. It's the best place to play snooker."

Higgins plays Jamie Jones in his first match at the World Snooker Championship.

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