Ronnie O'Sullivan makes history with EIGHTH UK Championship
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been warned he must respect the snooker players’ contract and cannot earn a ‘one-off quickie’ playing in Chinese events. In the latest row over which events snooker stars can and cannot compete in, boss Barry Hearn effectively said O’Sullivan must terminate his contract if he wants to compete in the lucrative tournaments held in China.
O’Sullivan is one of many snooker players desperate to play more events in China, with huge pay-offs offered to stars. The 47-year-old sensationally claimed that he will quit the sport if he is not allowed to play in those tournaments more often.
Five players – now known as the Macau Five – threatened to boycott the Northern Ireland Open to play in one of the tournaments. O’Sullivan was not a member of the breakaway group, but has backed those colleagues.
Snooker boss Barry Hearn has now told O’Sullivan and other players that they have a ‘choice’ over which competitions they participate in, but must respect their contracts if they sign them. “Everyone has a choice in what they want to play in and whether they want to be a part of our tour,” Hearn told the Metro.
“I think the game’s in really good hands. There’s always going to be temptations for a one-off quickie, but we don’t do one-off quickies. We are a sustainable business that’s growing very well, with some great news that’s coming in the next month or so, we’ve got a big month coming up.
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“Look, you’ll always get someone who wants to do something for a quick buck, but that’s just not the way that I run businesses, nor will it ever be. If people want to leave for a quick buck then I wish them well, they’ve got their own lives to run, they make their own decisions.
“I won’t be unreasonable with anybody, but we have rules, contracts in place and we’re always happy to sit down and talk to them, but in a professional dialogue. I don’t think there’s going to be any real issues, to be honest with you, I think Ronnie in particular is in demand in China. They offer him a lot of money and he wants to take advantage of that, I understand that.
“But he can’t do anything that’s harmful to the players’ contract. He has the choice not to sign the players’ contract, that’s his call, not mine.”
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O’Sullivan insists he owes it to his family to play in the lucrative events in China. He points out that there is a huge pay disparity between domestic tournaments and those held in the Asian country.
He said of the tournaments in China: “I get paid so much more for going to do that. It’s really hard for me to turn them down, I can’t. I’ve got to think of my family and all that sort of stuff.
“It’s alright if you win all of these tournaments, great. But if you get beat [in the] first round you’re struggling to pay your bills and stuff.”
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