Hossein Vafaei slammed over ‘pathetic’ Crucible complaint by Jimmy White and Alan McManus

The Iranian player landed in hot water following his comments about the Crucible Theatre – a venue which has played host to the world championships since 1977.

Vafaei believes the tournament should relocate to China or Saudi Arabia, though that is unlikely to happen soon considering the contract with the Sheffield-based venue runs until 2027.

The 29-year-old suffered a first-round defeat to Judd Trump over the weekend but made more headlines than any of the winners following his comments.

Former world championship semi-finalist Alan McManus slammed Vafaei for the comments, telling Eurosport: “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 in to put on a show or anyone else for that matter – it’s a place of work, it’s not a place to come in and be pampered. I don’t know quite what it is he wants?”

The Scottish snooker great believes Vafaei should concentrate on becoming a bigger name in the sport before making such complaints.

He added: “If you want to be a big star in this game, which he is not yet, go out and win some tournaments, 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 1977 and that remains the same.”

Six-time world finalist Jimmy White, who shared the studio with McManus, added: “If he wins the match, does he say that? It’s just pathetic. I just don’t get it."