By Elliott West
“He’s a nice person when he is asleep”.
Hossein Vafaei
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Hossein Vafaei. Photograph courtesy of The Independent.
Introduction
Sometimes the rivalry in snooker gets ugly. This isn’t a new phenomenon, just cast your mind back to the friction between Alex Higgins and Steve Davis. Alex hated Steve’s clean-cut image and his clinical brand of snooker. All the vitriol came from Higgins to the point where Davis was actually scared in his presence, fearing what he may do next. So it isn’t much of a surprise that the latest player to be in the line of fire is Ronnie O’Sullivan. Ronnie has past form with personal attacks, having already had verbal spats with both Peter Ebdon and Ali Carter. The latest is with Iran’s Hossein Vafaei who is probably one of the most passive snooker players you could meet. Yet over a period of time, Ronnie has rattled the Iranian’s cage to such an extent that O’Sullivan has gone from hero to zero.
The Spat
The disagreement between Hossein and Ronnie stems from the 2022 World Championship when a tense disagreement occurred. The Iranian accused O’Sullivan of being disrespectful, telling him to retire, saying that he was not good for the game and questioning what he had actually done for the game. Fast forward a year and this storm continues to fester in the Crucible fire. Had Hossein lost to Ding Junhui in the first round, maybe it would have been forgotten but thanks to his 10-6 win the flames of this dispute have been fanned again. The main reason being that the Iranian has drawn Ronnie in the second round
This draw caused sparks to fly with Ronnie warning Hossein to not rattle his cage. A warning shot across his bow that Vafaei clearly ignored, taking a few pop shots at his opponent during his post-match interview with Rachael Casey on Eurosport. In it he doesn’t pull any punches, directly naming Ronnie after being pressed on whose mouth he wanted to shut. Believing that the rattle his cage comment was a provocative red flag, Hossein took the comment personally, affecting not only himself but his family as well. Vafaei feels that respect is the key to any sport and snooker shouldn’t be dragged into the name-calling world of boxing. Win or lose, his conscious is clear because he has the hearts of the audience.
“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.”
Hossein Vafaei
Afterthoughts
Ronnie O’Sullivan has a proven track record of making comments with an aim of getting a reaction. Although a brilliant snooker player, his arrogance is not attractive. I really don’t think Hossein has a bad bone in his body and it must have taken him to brink to snap. I actually hope that the Iranian wins this match not only to show to the world what a great player he is but to also show Ronnie that he won’t entertain this pathetic game of name-calling and personal abuse, actions that just frankly stoke O’Sullivan’s ego.
I don’t think Ronnie has ever fully grown up. He lives in a bubble with a select entourage around him that tells him what he wants to hear. That has been the norm since her first picked up a cue and showed his potential and then brilliance on a snooker table. I hope that Hossein has caused him to reflect on his words and actions but knowing O’Sullivan’s character, I personally don’t think he can change. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks and Ronnie’s filter clearly evaporated into thin air years ago, that’s even if there was one in the first place. Don’t make enemies in sport and don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
O’Sullivan clearly believes he is invincible to any media storm he creates precisely because he is considered to be the greatest snooker player that has ever lived but frankly he doesn’t make any effort to engage with the players and only engages with fans at stage-managed events. After he plays, he just wants to get away, he never stays to speak to the crowd and doesn’t do autographs unless there is monetary gain involved. Yes, he has nothing to prove, he has smashed most of the records and had won every trophy available but the gentler, private side of Ronnie that I often hear about, very rarely comes out to play in public. Without sportsmanship and good old-fashioned chivalry, what is the point of any sport? It just becomes defunct and serves no purpose.
