Ronnie O’Sullivan claims he has been “asked to consider” his future in his latest row with the World Snooker Tour (WST). The snooker icon faces disciplinary action over comments he made about the tour’s stance on players competing in non-sanctioned events.
O’Sullivan backed five stars – known as the Macau Five – who wanted to play in an event in China earlier this season. The 47-year-old was not one of the players who missed the Northern Ireland Open to take part in the event, but has stated that he wants to play in China more often.
China is offering players more money than the British events, with O’Sullivan sensationally claiming last week that he will quit the sport if he is not allowed to play in the country as much as he wants. He has now alleged that the WST has asked him to “consider” his future in a letter.
O’Sullivan added: “The letter they’ve sent me has not been very nice.
“I think I’ve done a lot of good for this game. I’d expect someone to come out and say, ‘you know what, we think you’ve done great for the game, we love what you give’.
“I never get a ‘well done’ letter. All I get is a letter saying I’ve done this and that wrong. I’ve not spoken to anyone at World Snooker for 10 years and I won’t ever reach out to them again because I know the culture is not for me.”
O’Sullivan threatened to quit of his own accord last week. He claims that the effort that he puts into practicing for snooker events does not justify the rewards given to players.
“If I can’t go and do what I need to do, which is play a lot in China, I won’t ever play again. So, we’re at a kind of crossroads now,” he told the BBC.
“If that gets to the point where I’m not able to do that, I’m not allowed to do that, I probably won’t play. I’ll probably go and play Chinese eight ball because I still want to play snooker, I still want a cue in my hand. There’s just not enough here in the UK for me to justify the effort that I put in.”
O’Sullivan admits he feels more respected and valued by the Chinese event organisers. He describes playing in only WST-sanctioned events as like being in an ‘unhealthy relationship’.
The WST insists it deals with all players in a respectful manner and reached a compromise by moving the date of a tournament so that players could compete in the Macau competition.
