football shirt ban at snooker has forced brian to BREAK WITH TRADITION
BUT SKY BLUES FAN HAS FOUND A WAY AROUND THE NEW RULE...WELL, SORT OF...
They’ve said that rival football fans could start a fight but I’ve been going since 1989 and I’ve never seen a problem. Brian Wright
WHEN World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn decided to ban fans from wearing football shirts at the World Snooker Championships, one man lost out more than most.
Of course, we’re talking about Coventry City super fan Brian Wright, who has proudly donned the sky blue at the Crucible every year since 1989. But despite the objections of many, including a number of players, the ban remains in place, and football shirts are still strictly prohibited.
Not one to give up is Brian, who has found a way around the ban – sort of.
It isn’t quite a Coventry City top, but the sky blue and white striped shirt that Brian wore at the Crucible earlier this week was quite clearly a nod to the shirts that he is no longer allowed to wear. Not technically a Coventry City shirt, but distinctively representing the club that Brian feels so strongly about, it certainly looks like Brian has World Snooker well and truly snookered.
Brian appeared on the BBC’s coverage of the World Snooker Championships , where he again argued that the ban is uncalled for.
Last week, he spoke to the Telegraph and said: “It’s a load of rubbish.
“World Snooker wanted to ‘remind fans’ that football shirts were not allowed, but we were never told in the first place.
“They’ve said that rival football fans could start fighting, but I’ve been going since 1989 and I’ve never had a problem. Leicester and Villa fans sit side by side, Arsenal and Spurs fans sit side by side, there’s never any trouble.
“Barry Hearn is an absolute disgrace, he wants to bring the sport in line with the darts. I may as well go in dressed as Snow White or a Smurf. He’s a dinosaur and he’s ruining the sport that I love. I think it’s offensive to Coventry City and to people from Coventry.”
A number of players and commentators have given their views on the ban.
John Parrott said: “I’d never go out and about in a football shirt anyway, so it’s not really an issue for me. There can be ulterior motives with people wearing advertising. I don’t have a problem if he (Barry Hearn) bans them to be honest.”
Ken Doherty said: “I don’t like them in the audience. You might have a sponsor on the shirt, which is different to the sponsor of the main event, and you don’t want that. “I think it looks better when the people are nicely dressed without football shirts, and you don’t want rival fans in the audience. It’s a good idea to ban the football shirts.”
Jamie Jones said: “No I don’t agree with it. I think if you want to wear a football shirt then wear a football shirt. Something said it’s something to do with when they go to Scotland with the darts, but it’s a different crowd. The one fella who wears the football top, was sat by me, and I looked at him and I thought, he’s come here for 20 odd years, he’s not going to start riots in there is he?”
Mark Allen said: “I think it’s crazy, especially the reason they gave. To say that it’s an image thing. Would you rather the place packed with everyone wearing a football top or like you have in China when you go over there and you play in front of three people and their dog? That’s a terrible excuse to get rid of the football tops but it seems to be revolving around one person.
“You know obviously Brian’s well known amongst the players and it’s a shame because Brian comes here, he loves the snooker, he’s been coming here since 1989 I think and never missed a session.
“But he’s the one I think they’re singling out for that reason but, who cares.
“You come here to watch a snooker match who cares if they’re wearing a football top. I don’t think there’s going to be any trouble at a snooker tournament, so yeah, it’s all a bit PC.”