Hearn warns O’Sullivan to end talk of ‘breakaway’

WORLD Snooker chairman Barry Hearn has told Ronnie O’Sullivan his public outbursts have got to stop. Five-time world champion O’Sullivan infuriated Hearn when announcing the idea of a breakaway circuit at the UK Championship in York on Sunday. O’Sullivan, 43, cruised through to the last four at the Barbican with a 61 win against Martin O’Donnell on Friday. But while O’Sullivan (below) was closing in on his 11th UK Championship semifinal, Hearn was telling a press conference that the sport’s most marketable player was harming snooker and had to abide by the rules. ‘It is damaging to the game,’ Hearn said. ‘When you’re talking to major broadcasters around the world, for them to read about “breakaway” — it’s a word that tips you away from the sport because it’s controversy. ‘So that is damaging and that must stop. It can’t take place and I’ll be talking to Ronnie.’ Hearn said that O’Sullivan had been invited to discuss his complaints with World Snooker’s players’ forum. ‘Ronnie by nature does not like authority,’ Hearn said. ‘A lot of geniuses don’t like authority — Alex Higgins was one — but we live in a society where the rules are the rules and we must obey them, or get them changed. ‘I want to put an arm around Ronnie rather than hit him on the head because he needs to understand the way we work and we need to understand he may have some points that are worthy of consideration. ‘It doesn’t mean we are going to do anything because we’re going to run the sport for the benefit of 128 players, not one. ‘No one is bigger than the sport. Not me, not Ronnie O’Sullivan, not Steve Davis.’