Trump rocket for ‘selfish’ Ronnie as Crucible crowd row erupts
JUDD TRUMP has hit out at ‘selfish’ Ronnie O’Sullivan in an extraordinary eve-of-Crucible row between the defending world champion and arguably the game’s greatest player. This week O’Sullivan, 44, said stars were being treated like ‘lab rats’ by allowing spectators into the World Snooker Championship, which begins today, with asthmatic Anthony Hamilton withdrawing yesterday for medical reasons. But Trump says the five-time world champion should have also sat out the event — as he had earlier threatened — if he was not comfortable with crowds being back. World No 1 Trump gets the tournament underway at 10am today against Tom Ford, with around 300 fans allowed into the 980-capacity arena as a Government pilot event for the safe return of spectators after the Covid-19 lockdown. ‘Everybody had the choice,’ said Trump (right). ‘Of all people,
Ronnie is probably the only one who doesn’t need the money so I find it quite hard that he can enter it and have a go at what is going on. Just pull out and let someone else have a go. ‘I have been around the game long enough to know that if there is a World Championship coming up, he is going to try and get the headlines. ‘But for him to say he wasn’t going to play if there was a crowd, then change his mind, then slate it, just give someone else the opportunity if it doesn’t mean enough to you. I think it’s just a bit selfish.’ In what is thought to be a Crucible first, four-time quarter-finalist Hamilton, 49, has pulled out. In a statement, he said: ‘Due to my health condition, after careful consideration I have decided not to play in the final stages.’ Hamilton gets to keep his £20,000 prize money and his first-round opponent Kyren Wilson has a bye to the last-16. But his 11th-hour withdrawal was criticised by Trump and snooker supremo Barry Hearn. ‘There is a lot of money to be played for in this tournament. A lot of the low-ranked players struggle to put food on the table,’ Trump added. Hearn said: ‘By getting through the qualifiers he has effectively stopped someone else from going and earning a living.’
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