'Pathetic' – Jimmy White and Alan McManus defend Crucible after Hossein Vafaei claims it 'smells really bad'

Published 22/04/2024 at 21:15 GMT

Hossein Vafaei stole the headlines despite his defeat to Judd Trump at the World Snooker Championship on Sunday after claiming the Crucible "smells really bad". On Monday, Eurosport experts Alan McManus and Jimmy White leapt to the defence of snooker's most iconic venue, with the former labelling the Iranian's remarks "absolute nonsense". Stream top snooker action on discovery+.

'Absolute nonsense' – McManus and White dismiss Vafaei's claim Crucible 'smells really bad'

Jimmy White and Alan McManus have hit back at Hossein Vafaei's claim that the Crucible "smells really bad" and is "so bad" as a venue for snooker's biggest event.

Vafaei lost 10-5 to Judd Trump in the first round of the World Championship on Sunday before going on the offensive in his post-match media duties.

"History is very important but nobody invests any money in this historical venue," he said. "You want to go somewhere really nice. If you walk around the Crucible it smells really bad. I'm honest. Everything is so bad."

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He continued: "You go to other top venues in other countries and you can see how nice they treat you, how nice everything is and it is so shiny and completely different.

"If you ask me do I want to come back here, the answer is no. The practice room? Do you see anything special about it? It feels like I'm practising in a garage and that's not good. I'm coming here from a different country to see that. I'm sorry I have to tell the truth."

Speaking on Eurosport's coverage of day three in Sheffield, Eurosport experts McManus and White defended the sport's most iconic arena.

"Two things: it doesn't smell bad and everything is not wrong about this place. It's absolute nonsense," began McManus.

"I don't know what he wants...Does he want a bunch of flowers and a prawn sandwich on the way in the door? You come here to play snooker, you don't come here to smell roses and flowers.

"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 - and even then I wouldn't be talking like that. There's nothing wrong with the Crucible."

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Vafaei's only ranking title came at the one-frame Shoot Out in 2022, while he has won just one match in three appearances at the Crucible.

It is not the first time the Iranian has been outspoken. In 2022, he urged Ronnie O'Sullivan to retire for being "disrespectful" in an astonishing tirade, then said he wanted to "shut" the Rocket's mouth ahead of their second-round clash at the 2023 World Championship.

"It's just pathetic. I don't get it," added six-time World Championship runner-up White about Vafaei's Crucible comments.

"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."

The Crucible has staged snooker's biggest competition since 1977. Its current deal is set to expire in 2027 and debate around moving the event from its traditional home is raging on.

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