Ronnie O’Sullivan told to retire by Hossein Vafaei

Hossein Vafaei said that Ronnie O’Sullivan has failed to use his position to improve snooker and should retire, in a fiery interview on the eve of the World Championship.

In an interview with the Metro, Vafaei said: “A lot of things he says frustrates me. What kind of legend are you if you call people numpties? I was and am good friends with him, but I don’t like that. Maybe he likes it and gives him a good feeling, but I think people should treat him like that as well. I treat him like he deserves.”

Vafaei was particularly unimpressed by comments O’Sullivan made that he would now encourage his children to play snooker: “That was very bad words, very bad for our sport. Listen, he doesn’t need to remind us he’s won 20 major tournaments. I think someone who is beside him should remind him that he is Ronnie O’Sullivan. To be honest, Ronnie O’Sullivan without his team, without the people who are around him, he wouldn’t be here at all. He wouldn’t be here at all.

“He’s comparing himself with someone else. He’s comparing me with someone else. I don’t like that. We don’t have to compare ourselves to others. He’s saying you are poor, I am rich, I am Ronnie O’Sullivan. I don’t like that. I have money, my people in Iran have money, but we have to respect human beings as well. I don’t want to get involved in that kind of conversation really. I like him a lot, I am his fan, I love what he does but sometimes he’s disrespectful, he’s not good for the game.”

He also questioned whether O’Sullivan had actually made the game bigger: ““I don’t see any improvement, he’s been 20 years on top of this sport and what has he done for us? This is my biggest question: What has he done for us? I think he should retire, to be honest with you. He should retire and then the younger generation make the game bigger.”

O’Sullivan is currently aiming to match Stephen Hendry’s record of seven world titles in the Crucible era. He dismissed Vafaei’s comments as “just words”, and told Eurosport that he wasn’t going to retire while he was at the top of the sport and kept enjoying playing snooker: “Someone’s going to have to come and knock me off my perch before I start thinking about retiring.”

To say he should retire is wrong – he’s the pinnacle of our game

– Mark Williams

The six-timeworld champion is currently in the second round after being David Gilbert. Vafaei, who made his Crucible debut this year, was defeated by Judd Trump 10-4 in the first round.

As these comments came before the tournament, a number of pros were asked for their responses. While most accepted that Vafaei made some valid points, especially regarding O’Sullivan’s attitude to other pros, they stated snooker was certainly in a better place because of him.

Shaun Murphy compared O’Sullivan to another star of snooker’s golden era: “Alex Higgins wasn’t the world’s best role model at all. But he dragged snooker from anonymity kicking and screaming into people’s homes through the TV. He made people watch and demanded their attention. Ronnie O’Sullivan is exactly the same. He hasn’t always said the right things and he’d admit himself that he’s not a media trained robot. But he demands people’s attention and it drags them into snooker. Coverage has been into 1.8 billion households around the world last season – but would those figures be the same without Ronnie O’Sullivan? I doubt it.”

Mark Williams said: “I agree with some of what Hossein said about how Ronnie runs lower ranked players down and sometimes talks the game down. As an ambassador for the sport, he shouldn’t really be saying things like that. But to say he should retire is wrong – he’s the pinnacle of our game. If he’s playing, he’ll sell tickets and be put on the match table for TV. Whether you like him or not, he’s carried the game for a long time and that’s why the money in the game is as good as it is. He’s still the main draw now. I don’t enjoy playing him… but only because he keeps beating me. He’s a pain in my arse!”

Mark Allen said: “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.”

Not every pro shared these views, however, and Luca Brecel was quoted as agreeing with Vafaei: ““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.”