CARTER: RON IS MENTALLY NOT RIGHT
ALI CARTER believes Ronnie O’sullivan is “mentally unwell” after being on the receiving end of the Rocket’s explosive X-rated rant.
O’sullivan beat nemesis Carter in London on Sunday night to pocket an eighth Masters title, adding a staggering 23rd Triple Crown trophy to his collection.
But the aftermath soon turned sour as foulmouthed O’sullivan told Carter to “sort his f***ing life out” and “grow some balls” in an astonishing expletiveladen tirade after his opponent accused him of “snotting” on to the Alexandra Palace floor.
The world No.1, who is already embroiled in disciplinary proceedings for disparaging comments about the game’s rulers earlier this season, is being investigated by World Snooker Tour for his latest startling outburst. And Carter, who yesterday beat Wu Yize 4-3 in the last 32 of the World Grand Prix, said: “I actually feel a bit sorry for him. I don’t think he’s that well, mentally.
“He says different things on different days. I don’t think even he knows what’s going to come out of his mouth on certain days. He’s entitled to his opinion of me and I’ve got my opinion of him.
“I know what I saw, I speak facts and that’s what it is. The rant was a bit uncalled for but it’s what you’d expect I’d say.”
O’sullivan is the man who has stopped Carter from realising his dreams of becoming world champion – he was beaten 18-8 by the Rocket in the 2008 final and 18-11 in the 2012 final.
And it was third time unlucky as a maiden Masters title also slipped from his grasp.
There has been bad blood between the pair throughout their careers and it infamously boiled over in an incident, later coined ‘barge-gate’, at the World Championship in 2018 when they clashed on the grandest stage in the sport. O’sullivan barged Carter in the ribs and snapped “that’s for being Mr Angry” at his opponent.
Asked if he knew where the animosity stems from, world No.10 Carter (above) said: “No, I’m afraid not.
“I just want to move on. He can rant off if he wants, that’s fine. I’ll take it on the chin and carry on. That’s the sensible thing to do as a professional sportsman.
“We were quite friendly when we were younger, I don’t really know what happened.
“I learned a lot off him. Who wouldn’t learn a lot off him? He’s the greatest player of all time. There’s no doubt about that.”