Jimmy White and Alan McManus have slammed Hossein Vafaei for urging the World Snooker Championships to move away from the Crucible after his first-round exit to Judd Trump.
The Crucible’s contract to host the Triple Crown event runs out in 2027 with several players speaking out against the venue.
Holding just 980 spectators, it is one of the smallest arenas for a world championship event.
O’Sullivan, Trump and Ali Carter are just a few of the players who have called on the tournament to be moved to a bigger venue.
Vafaei joined in the calls for the World Snooker Championships to be moved after his defeat to Trump on Sunday.
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Hossein Vafaei have a storied history
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But the Iranian snooker star grabbed headlines for his comments in claiming the Sheffield venue ‘smells really bad’ and called for the tournament to be moved overseas.
White was infuriated by Vafaei’s unapologetic views on the Crucible and feels he will regret his remarks and gave an example of the recent spat he had with O’Sullivan.
“If he wins the match, does he say that?” White asked on Eurosport.
“It’s just pathetic. I don’t get it. He’s not performed, he’s got beat.
“A couple of years ago when he played O’Sullivan and came out with all that nonsense… it’s just stupid. These things he will regret.
“You got beat, shake the geezer’s hand and get ready for next year.”
Vafaei fell out with O’Sullivan three years ago and called on the snooker icon to ‘retire’.
They met at last year’s World Snooker Championships where O’Sullivan admitted that he was ‘turned on’ by the criticism.
McManus also took exception to Vafaei’s views about the Crucible and questioned the motives of the 29-year-old.
He said: “Two things: it doesn’t smell bad and everything is not wrong about this place. That’s absolute nonsense.
“I don’t know what he wants…Does he want a bunch of flowers and a prawn sandwich on the way in the door? I don’t know.
Hossein Vafaei wants the World Championships moved
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“You come here to play snooker, you don’t come here to smell roses and flowers and all that stuff.
“This is a place to come and conduct your business. If Diana Ross came here to put on a show, or anyone else for that matter, it’s a place of work, it’s not a place to come and be pampered.
“I don’t know quite what it is he wants.
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“If you want to be a big star in this game, which he’s not yet incidentally, go out and win some tournaments and then start talking like that – but even then I wouldn’t be talking like that.
“There’s nothing wrong with the Crucible.
“There’s been nothing wrong with it since ’77 and that remains the same.”
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