Ronnie O'Sullivan in foul-mouthed rant at Ali Carter as Masters final aftermath turns nasty
Ronnie O’Sullivan became embroiled in an extraordinary war of words with Ali Carter following their snooker Masters final, with the No1 telling Carter “to sort his f------ life out” after being accused of “snotting” on the floor.
The duo have history following a shoulder barge incident during the 2018 World Championships - the only time Carter has beaten O’Sullivan in a major tournament - and there was obvious tension during the match at Alexandra Palace on Sunday.
O’Sullivan declared that “I love seeing it when their bottle goes” after Carter missed a series of chances in the final stages of his 10-7 defeat before taking offence at some of his beaten opponent’s post-match comments.
“There were a couple of things that happened out there that go unnoticed,” Carter said.
“Well, they don’t go unnoticed but anyone with an eyesight or a brain can see what’s going on. And it’s disgusting quite frankly. No-one wants to say anything, do they? Snotting all over the floor and all that.”
O’Sullivan, who had earlier hit out over what he called the “freezing…disgusting” state of Alexandra Palace, brandished a middle finger at the press conference after hearing of Carter’s claims. “He can sit on it as far as I’m concerned,” said O’Sullivan. “I don’t give a f---. You know what he’s like, everybody knows what he’s like. He’s got issues.
“F------ why has he got issues with me? I’m not having it. I don’t care, grow some balls. I don’t give a f---. The more he brings it on, the more I f------ punish him every time.
“He’s just digging a grave for himself. He needs to sort his f------ life out. I haven’t spoken to him for 20 years.
“I played with him when he was a kid and shared a lot of stuff with him. I’m not going to skirt around it anymore, tip-toeing on egg shells around someone like that. Playing snooker against someone like that is a nightmare. He’s not a nice person.
“It’s not a nice vibe he leaves around the table. I’ve said my piece. I don’t give a s---. End of press conference? I suppose you’ve got your headlines, haven’t you?”
O’Sullivan had previously called Carter “Mr Angry” during their 2018 Crucible clash and has also twice beaten Carter in World Championship finals. Carter and O’Sullivan are both from the snooker hotbed of Essex and, with only four years separating them in age, have been regularly playing against each other for the past 25 years.
Carter fired back at O’Sullivan on Tuesday as he returned to action on at the World Grand Prix in Leicester and insisted his final opponent is unwell.
“Ronnie is entitled to his opinion. I just said what it is and how it was and I talk facts. It is as simple as that,” Carter told ITV.
“It makes no difference to me what he says – he says different things on different days. I don’t think he even knows what is going to come out of his mouth at certain times.
“I actually feel a bit sorry for him. I don’t think he is that well. So we move forward and we go again this week.”
Carter had also hit out at the Ally Pally crowd, labelling them “morons” as a boisterous atmosphere led to the referee having to issue repeated warnings. After leading 6-3, Carter lost six of the last seven frames and O’Sullivan seemed to take particular pleasure at the manner of his comeback. “I just had to keep Ali honest,” he said. “I thought, ‘Let’s see if he’s got the bottle to get over the line’. That was the only thing that turned me on tonight.
“I thought, ‘Let’s get him to the point... where I want to see if he twitches’. I love seeing it when their bottle goes. I love it.”
O’Sullivan returns to the table at the World Grand Prix in Leicester on Tuesday night where he has been drawn against China’s Pang Junxu. He then plans to take some time out before his attempt to win a record eighth World Championship and complete a season’s ‘grand slam’ of major tournament wins after also triumphing in last month’s UK Championship. O’Sullivan is both the oldest and youngest winner of a ‘triple crown’ event.
Sunday night was also his 23rd ‘major’ victory, extending his all-time lead over Stephen Hendry to five. Carter was bidding for his first triple crown win.
O’Sullivan vs. Carter is snooker’s Ali vs. Frazier: Sport’s top five rivalries
1.Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier
Ahead of their 1971 ‘Fight of the Century’, Ali called Frazier “too ugly to be the champ” and “a gorilla”. Ali might have considered it all a joke but Frazier was deeply offended and his side of the feud would endure long after their third fight, the 1975 ‘Thrilla in Manilla’ in which Ali prevailed but said that he felt close to death.
Ali’s biographer Thomas Hauser said that it reached a point whereby “fighting for the championship of each other” meant more to them than the heavyweight championship of the world. Ali would later repeatedly apologise for the abuse he aimed at Frazier but his great rival was largely unmoved. “I hated Ali. I hated that man,” he said.
2. Tonya Harding v Nancy Kerrigan
It has been exactly 30 years since one of the biggest scandals in sports history. Kerrigan and Harding were both preparing for the US figure-skating championships ahead of the Winter Olympics later that year when Kerrigan was smashed in the knee by a baton shortly after completing a practice routine in Detroit.
It later emerged that the attack was planned by Jeff Gillooly, Harding’s ex-husband. Harding pleaded guilty to hindering the prosecution – meaning that she knew who had done the attack, but only afterwards, and that she didn’t report it immediately. Kerrigan would still win a silver medal in 1994 while Harding was banned for life by the US Figure Skating Association.
3. Ian Botham v Ian Chappell
Any hope that a feud which began in a Melbourne bar back in 1977 might finally end seemed to evaporate last year when Botham and Chappell were reunited for a short documentary.
After years of exchanging verbal barbs, Chappell could barely bring himself to look at Botham. “Things don’t change,” said Botham. “Why would they?” replied Chappell. They then each accused the other of telling lies before Botham declared that “I should have finished you off when I had the chance”. Respectively aged 67 and 79, the meeting lasted less than five minutes.
4. Brian Clough v Don Revie
Two of the preeminent managers of the 1970s clashed when their respective teams - Derby County and Leeds United - were vying for the top of English football. Clough repeatedly condemned Leeds’ playing style and tactics before unexpectedly being selected to succeed Revie at Elland Road when the latter became England manager. After Clough lasted just 44 days in the job, the two men memorably then went toe-to-toe in a live television debate on ITV.
5. Ayrton Senna v Alain Prost
Two of the greatest F1 drivers of all time also happened to be team-mates during the late 1980s. There were repeated clashes both on and off the track, memorably the Japanese Grand Prixs of 1989 and 1990 when the World Championship was twice decided after they crashed into each other.
They would eventually race for different teams, with Senna less than impressed by Prost’s supposed desire to drive in a superior car. “He’s behaving like a coward,” said Senna. “It’s like you go in a 100-metre sprint, and you want to have running shoes, and everybody else should have lead shoes.”
