Former champion Shaun Murphy on Wednesday said that amateurs should not be allowed to play in professional snooker tournaments after he lost in the first round of the UK championship to 19-year-old Si Jiahui.
The 39-year-old Murphy, who was runner-up in the world championship this year, fought back from 5-1 down to level the match, but lost the deciding frame to the Chinese amateur.
Murphy, who has won more than ￡4 million (US$5.33 million) in prize money in his career, vented his frustration after the defeat in York on Tuesday.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I’m going to sound like a grumpy old man, but that young man shouldn’t be in the tournament,” Murphy, known as the Magician, told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“It’s not fair, it’s not right... I don’t know why we as a sport allow amateurs to compete in professional tournaments. This is our livelihood. This is our living. We’re self-employed individuals and not contracted sportsmen. We don’t play for a team.”
Si is competing as an amateur due to falling off the main tour at the end of last season and is to take on 49-year-old veteran Dominic Dale in the second round.
The World Snooker Tour said they “strongly disagree” with Murphy’s comments adding that Si, while an amateur, deserved a place based on his results.
“He [Si] played like a man who does not have a care in the world, because he does not have a care in the world,” Murphy said. “I’m not picking on him as a young man, he deserved his victory.”
“This is how I put food on the table. This is how I earn money,” he added. “Since turning professional at 15, I’ve earned the right to call myself a professional snooker player. He hasn’t done that.”
Four-time world champion Mark Selby backed Murphy’s call.
Selby, speaking after a 6-2 win over Ross Muir, told the BBC: “I think a lot of players agree with him. Because he [Murphy] said it after he lost, people probably think it is sour grapes and he wouldn’t have said it if he had won — but I totally stand by everything he said.”
Reigning UK champion Neil Robertson also backed Murphy.
“They [amateur players] are basically on a free hit at a pro, so I completely agree with what Shaun’s saying there, because it is very dangerous,” the Australian said.
Additional reporting by AFP
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