LONDON – Ronnie O’Sullivan’s verbal spat with fellow Englishman Ali Carter following his eighth Masters title at the weekend is being investigated by the World Snooker Tour.
The 48-year-old accused Carter of being “not a nice person” and in need of counselling after his opponent criticised his behaviour during the final at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Carter, 44, had called out the world No. 1 for “snotting” – clearing his nose – “all over the floor”.
“He (Carter) has got issues. He’s got to go and sort his life out,” O’Sullivan, nicknamed “The Rocket”, said in response to the claims. “He’s got to go and see a counsellor or something. He’s got to deal with that because that isn’t any good.
“I don’t talk to him. I haven’t spoken to him for 20 years. I played with him when he was a kid, shared a lot of stuff with him. For him to come out and trash talk me like that, everybody knows what he’s like, he’s got issues. Why has he got issues with me? I’m not having it. I don’t care.”
O’Sullivan, who had a run-in with Carter in 2018 when the two players “shoulder-barged” each other during a match at the World Championship, also accused his opponent of being a nightmare to play against.
“He’s a nightmare. To have to play snooker against someone like that is a nightmare. (He’s) not a nice person, not a nice vibe that he leaves around the table,” the seven-time world champion added.
Asked to comment on O’Sullivan and Carter’s latest incident on Jan 16, a World Snooker Tour spokesman said the comments were “under review”.
Carter, nicknamed “The Captain”, hit back at O’Sullivan later on the same day. “It makes no difference to me what he says – he says different things on different days,” Carter, who lost 10-7, told ITV.
“I don’t think he even knows what is going to come out of his mouth at certain times. I actually feel a bit sorry for him. I don’t think he is that well. So we move forward and we go again this week.”
In 2022, O’Sullivan was fined £4,000 (S$6,800) for bringing the game into disrepute for making a “lewd and offensive gesture” on two occasions at that year’s World Championship and the 2021 UK Championship. REUTERS, AFP
