A former snooker player turned pundit has claimed Ronnie O’Sullivan “felt wronged” by Ali Carter in the latest twist to their explosive feud. The pair have been involved in a series of bitter exchanges ever since their clash in the Masters final on Sunday, which the ‘Rocket’ won 10-7 after battling back from 6-3 down.
But the match at Alexandra Palace has since been overshadowed by their war of words, with Carter initially accusing O’Sullivan of “snotting” on the floor in an attempt at unsportsmanlike behaviour.
Carter also criticised “some morons” in the crowd at Ally Pally, accusing spectators of trying to disrupt him amid their support for his opponent. But the world No.1 has been savage in his response, ranting in his post-match press conference that his rival should “sort his f****** life out.”
And now Alan McManus, who was on duty during the tournament, has added a new twist to the saga. The Scot has aired the theory that the rift between the two players dates back to when they were coming through the youth ranks in the sport.
“Well tensions were running high, it’s a very hot atmosphere in Ally Pally,” he told ITV4. “Myself and Ken [Doherty] were obviously there. Tensions can boil over, there is history between the two, they’ve kind of grown up together.
“Ronnie I think took Ali under his wing in some way a number of years ago and he felt a bit wronged on both sides of it. But it shows the importance and the tension that’s going on at these big events.”
It’s not the first controversy to occur between the pair. O’Sullivan beat his compatriot in both the 2008 and 2012 World Championship final, but it was their second-round meeting in 2018 which the ‘Captain’ won that made headlines for the wrong reasons.
And pundit Doherty referenced that flashpoint when commenting himself: “There’s history behind it, the shoulder barge at the World Championship, it goes from there.
“It’s bad blood, I think he was reacting to what Ali had said in the press conference as well. I’m sure World Snooker will review it and we’ll see what happens. Not great headlines really.”
