‘I’d rather put an arm around Ronnie rather than hit him with a brick..but rules must be obeyed’

rules to be obeyed. I see it how Sir Alex Ferguson dealt with Eric Cantona (below).

“The other United players knew Eric was special and he got cut a lot of slack – but only up to a point.

“Ronnie doesn’t like authority, in our game of snooker Alex Higgins ignored it a lot of the time. But obey the rules or get them changed via the proper channels.

“I would rather put an arm round Ronnie rather than hit him on the head with a brick. We will give him consideration, but that doesn’t mean we agree with him.”

Defending UK champion O’Sullivan, 43, will play Leicester’s Tom Ford, 35, today for a place in the final.

He said: “I don’t really plan to have a cup of tea with Barry, there is no point. I have said what I wanted, got a transcript typed up of my points that need changing.

“I have spoken to a lot of top players, they agree. I understand they might not want to add their name to a list, that is fine – but I am brave enough to speak out.”