World Snooker Championships venue Crucible ‘smells really bad’, says Iran star, who wants bosses to learn from China
- Hossein Vafaei loses first-round clash 10-5 to Judd Trump and lashes out at the conditions
- Vafaei says he wouldn’t want to return to Sheffield venue: ‘I feel like I’m practising in a garage’
Iran’s Hossein Vafaei said on Sunday that the Crucible Theatre venue for the world snooker championships “smells really bad” and the tournament could learn from China, where players were “treated like stars”.
Vafaei lost his first-round clash 10-5 to former champion Judd Trump and lashed out at the conditions at the arena in Sheffield that has hosted the event since 1977.
“Everything’s so bad – if you ask me if I want to come back here, I would tell you no way,” he said. “Forget the history, you want to go somewhere really nice as a player.
“You walk round the Crucible and it smells really bad. You go to other countries, and everything is shiny. But here it’s completely different.
“The practice room – do you see anything special? I feel like I’m practising in a garage.”
World No 1 Ronnie O’Sullivan has already suggested the world championship be moved to Saudi Arabia or China when the existing deal expires in 2027.
