ITV Football / Twitter
ITV Football / Twitter / Twitter
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN HAS suggested he will no longer give frank or in-depth interviews, owing to the perceived unfair punishments he has received as a result of speaking to the media.
After defeating teenager Yan Bingtao in the World Grand Prix first round, O’Sullivan gave a bizarre, monosyllabic and knowingly cliché-ridden interview to ITV, with the brief chat coming to an impromptu end after the star began impersonating a robot while answering questions from former-player-turned-reporter Neal Foulds.
In a blog for Eurosport, O’Sullivan explained that he was unhappy with the reaction to his behaviour at the Masters. The 41-year-old publicly criticised a photographer for unwittingly distracting him during vital moments of his semi-final Masters match with Marco Fu, later swearing at a media conference when describing his frustration at the situation.
The sporting legend also criticised referee Terry Camilleri for what O’Sullivan perceived to be an inept performance on the official’s part.
Writing via his blog, O’Sullivan explained his annoyance, having receiving a disciplinary letter from World Snooker after winning his seventh Masters, indicating that the punishments were unduly harsh and that he was being treated unfairly in comparison to other players.
“For some reason, I appear to get fined more than all the fines the other players get for similar offences,” he claimed. “I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions from that.
“In fact, some other players don’t get reported for similar things they have done. Sadly, I feel some of it is a bit personal. Why? Because it has been going on for years.
From now on, when I don’t say much in my interviews regarding snooker, you know why. I will no longer put my head on the chopping block. I don’t need the PR good or bad.”
Despite his frustration with recent events, O’Sullivan convincingly overcame Bingtao 4-2 in Preston.
He later tipped his teenage opponent to be a future great when responding to a question on Twitter.
Ronnie O'Sullivan / Twitter
Ronnie O'Sullivan / Twitter / Twitter
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