17 January 2024 , 10:39
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Ronnie O'Sullivan's father has hit out at Matchroom Sport president and former World Snooker Tour (WST) chairman Barry Hearn, branding him a "car boot salesman".
Matchroom is the primary stakeholder in the WST and O'Sullivan Snr. has accused Hearn of treating his son "atrociously", following his Masters win last week. Just two days after his memorable 10-7 victory over Ali Carter in the final, the Rocket was back in action at the World Grand Prix as he beat Pang Junxu 4-2 to reach the last 16.
O'Sullivan will then take on Alfie Burden next week in a bid to secure a spot at the finals of the World Open, which are being staged in China in March. And O'Sullivan Snr is not happy with the situation and has taken aim at Hearn on social media.
"Arrived in Leicester. I managed to get a few hours kip I'm absolutely worn out and I'm not playing," he wrote, referencing his son's game against Pang and upcoming match against Burden. "And straight after this one my son has to travel to Barnsley round the back of a working man's club to qualify for the tournament in China.
"I've lost all respect for baz hernia. Once you lose respect for someone, there’s no return. Treated my son atrociously. Mental health is a very important issue because Ronnie has been there. I hope that the WST support any snooker players after this gruelling regime they are being put through.
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"On your head bazzer. I hope the Chinese officials overrule that car boot salesman Barry earner and give Ronnie a wild card. Number one in the world rankings and has to travel to Barnsley with an audience of one man and a dog. Great way to treat any player in the top 32 let alone No 1.
"I honestly believe baz hernia gets a big buzz to have this power over the snooker players. Maybe because he can't bully any of the boxers, maybe because they wouldn't tolerate it." His comments come after O'Sullivan himself admitted he was in need of a break following the Masters and that "too much intense snooker for me is not good".
"I'm a bit played-out, to be honest with you," he told Eurosport. "I had such a strong push September-October-November December, I really went hard at every tournament. I look at the first four months as the main part of my season. I put everything into that and I did better than I thought I would do.
"Subconsciously you think, I was quite content with that. It's hard to keep motivating yourself. It really is. This game is too hard. I'm going to take two months off now. I'll probably just play next week because it's 32 players. I've earned my way to get in that tournament. But I'll just swerve all the other tournaments now.
"I feel like I want a break. I'm looking forward to getting on the exhibition circuit, start playing more exhibitions, I enjoy them, they're a bit of fun. Too much intense snooker for me is not good. I need to back off and consolidate and get some fun in the game so the exhibitions will be good."
Mirror Sport has contacted the WST for comment.