RONNIE O’SULLIVAN was booted out of the World Snooker Championship by Stuart Bingham – but then revealed he considered not competing in the tournament.
And the Rocket reckons some referees “have got it in for me” as his quest for Crucible No.8 rolls over until next year.
Bingham, the 2015 world champion, progressed to the semi-finals following a stunning 13-10 victory and celebrated with a glass of red wine.
Yet seven-time world champion O’Sullivan, 48, said he only attended after being persuaded to do so by a new sponsor.
O’Sullivan, who PUNCHED the table in anger after one poor shot, said: “I wasn’t going to play the Tour Championship in Manchester or this because of how I was feeling about playing.
“They sort of twisted my arm. It’s first come, first served. I have signed up for 8-9 events next year.
“There are only so many days I allow myself to be away from home. You cannot do it all.
“I would have done (punditry) days with Eurosport here. They’ve been pretty good with me. I wanted to fulfill that.
“There are so many things to do in my life, man. I have such a busy, good life.
“Probably done painting with Damien Hirst, ate good food, taken the dogs out, seen my children, gone to Champney’s Spa.
“It might sound boring to you but it’s bloody exciting to me.”
O’Sullivan was praised in frame 12 by former world champion Neil Robertson for “the greatest bit of sportsmanship I’ve ever seen” after he turned down a chance to pot a red.
Trailing by 14 points, it appeared he was unsure whether the black -which referee Desislava Bozhilova has just respotted - was lying correcting on its spot, thus making the red pottable.
Rather than pot the red, O'Sullivan opted to instead play a safety shot after more than four-and-a-half minutes of deliberation – as the black ball was respotted about 10 times.
Australian cueist Robbo, working for the BBC praised O’Sullivan for telling ref Bozhilova she had not placed the black back accurately and was giving him an unfair advantage.
O'Sullivan went on to lose the frame.
But O’Sullivan admitted: “To be honest with you, some of the referees I think they’ve got it in for me.
“So I just wanted to prove to her that she’d got it wrong.
“I didn’t feel good about having to pot the ball after that. But I just wanted to make a point.
“I’m not that hungry to win in that way. I’m more of a principled person, so once the principle’s been made I can sleep at night.”
The World Snooker Tour refutes those allegations and insists the referee acted correctly and appropriately.
Bingham, who hit a 104 in the penultimate frame, cried backstage as he edged closer to a second world title – and now faces qualifier Jak Jones over four sessions across three days.
And the Rocket reckons some referees “have got it in for me” as his quest for Crucible No.8 rolls over until next year.
Bingham, the 2015 world champion, progressed to the semi-finals following a stunning 13-10 victory and celebrated with a glass of red wine.
Yet seven-time world champion O’Sullivan, 48, said he only attended after being persuaded to do so by a new sponsor.
O’Sullivan, who PUNCHED the table in anger after one poor shot, said: “I wasn’t going to play the Tour Championship in Manchester or this because of how I was feeling about playing.
“They sort of twisted my arm. It’s first come, first served. I have signed up for 8-9 events next year.
“There are only so many days I allow myself to be away from home. You cannot do it all.
“I would have done (punditry) days with Eurosport here. They’ve been pretty good with me. I wanted to fulfill that.
“There are so many things to do in my life, man. I have such a busy, good life.
“Probably done painting with Damien Hirst, ate good food, taken the dogs out, seen my children, gone to Champney’s Spa.
“It might sound boring to you but it’s bloody exciting to me.”
O’Sullivan was praised in frame 12 by former world champion Neil Robertson for “the greatest bit of sportsmanship I’ve ever seen” after he turned down a chance to pot a red.
Trailing by 14 points, it appeared he was unsure whether the black -which referee Desislava Bozhilova has just respotted - was lying correcting on its spot, thus making the red pottable.
Rather than pot the red, O'Sullivan opted to instead play a safety shot after more than four-and-a-half minutes of deliberation – as the black ball was respotted about 10 times.
Australian cueist Robbo, working for the BBC praised O’Sullivan for telling ref Bozhilova she had not placed the black back accurately and was giving him an unfair advantage.
O'Sullivan went on to lose the frame.
But O’Sullivan admitted: “To be honest with you, some of the referees I think they’ve got it in for me.
“So I just wanted to prove to her that she’d got it wrong.
“I didn’t feel good about having to pot the ball after that. But I just wanted to make a point.
“I’m not that hungry to win in that way. I’m more of a principled person, so once the principle’s been made I can sleep at night.”
The World Snooker Tour refutes those allegations and insists the referee acted correctly and appropriately.
Bingham, who hit a 104 in the penultimate frame, cried backstage as he edged closer to a second world title – and now faces qualifier Jak Jones over four sessions across three days.
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