Speaking to reporters the snooker player who only just managed to get through the first round was highly critical of the towns sports venue.
O’Sullivan reportedly said:
“It hasn’t changed as far as I’m concerned.’
‘You’d have to do a lot to change this place, wouldn’t you? You’d have to do an overall refurb on this place, but I’m not surprised, it is what I expected it to be.
I’ve just gone from the match table to a squash court to a toilet, where the player’s office is, to outside the building, in the rain, to get round here to do interviews, so I’ll probably end up with a bit of pneumonia on top of the cold which I’ve already got.”
He even joked that:
“Every day in Crawley is a day lost in my life.”
But the player has received backlash from the towns leaders and residents with Crawley MP Henry Smith saying:
“I believe it is the second year he has done this, he would be better concentrating on his snooker than mouthing off cheap lines.”
One local resident from Tilgate summed up their feelings of the snooker player saying:
“Who is he?”
A spokesperson from the English Open said:
“After last year’s English Open in Crawley we gathered feedback from the players, fans and officials and the overall feedback was that it is an excellent venue.
Based on this feedback we have made some changes to the layout this time in order to improve the experience for the players, including a new quiet lounge for the players and an improved practice facility. We are happy to be working with the K2 venue building the English Open into a great event.
The atmosphere in the arena on the opening day on Monday was excellent and we look forward to more support from the people of Crawley throughout the week.”