Shaun Murphy was booed by some members of the crowd as he was introduced into the Crucible arena today. It didn't seem to bother him as he carved out a 7-1 lead over Marco Fu.
I don't know what this was all about or whether it was related to his marriage break up and the well publicised spat with his wife but I have no time for this sort of behaviour.
Relationships break up all the time but most do so in private. Murphy is to an extent a public figure but this does not mean his personal life should become an issue on the table.
I realise Shaun is not to everyone's taste, but who is?
I'd be prepared to bet that many of those who have taken against him have never met him in person.
The rights and wrongs of relationship breakdowns are rarely clearcut. Whatever has happened in private, I don't believe Murphy deserves this kind of treatment at the World Championship.
38 comments:
I think Murphy is a great player and ambassador for the sport. It is great to see him finding some form at last. Those who boo anyone should be identified, ejected and banned from all tournaments for life.
In response to the statement "Those who boo anyone should be identified, ejected and banned from all tournaments for life.", I can only say that I agree. Freedom of expression is totally overrated. No, wait...
Sorry but Murphy has to accept that actions he takes have consequencies. He leaves his wife, plays around with another woman, tells the Snooker authorities to watch out for his wife and in-laws so that they are thrown out of the Crucible the other day. His wife has threatened to serve Divorce papers on him at the Crucible as he has not told her where he living. He has spun this as him being the victim of the situation when it seems he has brought it on himself. So with all that why is anyone surprised with the reaction of some members of the public. I agree that their action was misguided but it is understandable.
Poor old Shaun. We snooker fans should stick together and pull for him. His in-laws were out of order going to one of his matches.
booing has no place in snooker- lets have some respect. In a similar vein can we stop this talk of 'getting the boys on the baize' and hyping the crowd. Bond and Hendry and men in there 40s and hardly boys, also there achievements in the game deserve more than 'boys' would suggest. Please somebody help Rob to find another catchphrase and bring an oppropriate level of decorum to proceedings. He can keep up his good work on snooker on the red and be taught how to act when introducing the legends of the sport.
Surely for Christians the word of God is final. So if Murphy has committed adultery, I think being booed is getting off very lightly.
Leviticus 20:10 clearly states: "And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death."
Shaun's lucky he's not taken round the back of the Crucible and stoned to death.
It's all these soccer - sorry Jamie - football casuals. To get some decorum back to the proceedings there must be some minimum dress standards for the spectators; and that means no football shirts.
People didn't boo in the old days, and that's because there was respect, starting with respect for other people's eyes. If the men had to wear a collar and tie, like the players, we wouldn't hear any shouting or booing.
Oneball said...
Poor old Shaun. We snooker fans should stick together and pull for him. His in-laws were out of order going to one of his matches.Oneball, no need to pull for Shaun. He's managed to do that successfully enough on his own. Leave him be to settle into his new relationship.
Sorry. I read that Murphy didn't consummate the marriage and his Mrs. was gagging for a good rodgering as per: Ecclesiastes (ch. VII, v. 29)
"Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright and erect; but they have sought out many inventions to help the weak man satisfy woman in need."
What's with all this religious crap?
FFS. Easter was 2 weeks ago!
fu was atrocious today - didnt play like he did against swail
Hi Dave,
Maybe the booing was a regional thing. After he became an adopted 'Yorkshireman' and gaining local support in Sheffield, he has left and now lives in Sale, Manchester. Maybe the locals feel they have been duped!
Its all comical when, after all, he is an Essex boy!
Thanks, Joe
Does it matter if you wear a football shirt or a suit doesn't make you a better person cus you wear a tie. You pay your money you get your ticket's you wear what the hell you like, like it or lump it.
Putting the ticket prices up will help keep the riff raff out. I've just had to pay £100 a ticket for court side seats for the ATP Master Series at the O2 in November.
Make it a premium event and market the sport to people with more spare income. It is, after all, The World Championship.
Oh dear Mark Allen is riff raff to http://www.global-snooker.com/Global-Snooker-brings-you-the-Fans-Eye-View-of-the-World-Snooker-Championship.asp
When I said "pull for him" I meant in the sense that instead of booing him, show him we sympathise with his situation.
As I hinted on before, his in-laws know the story and they were there for a reason. No-one's going to believe they were innocently attending a match because they're snooker fans and had no idea the tabloids were having a field day. Why not watch another match in that case?
Anon 11:24 a very strange post you say " Putting the ticket prices up will help keep the riff raff out" these comment's are put at the football shirt wearing audiance i presume? Then you go on to say, I've just had to pay £100 a ticket for court side seats for the ATP Master Series at the O2 in November. Wow £100 a ticket us Arsenal fans pay over £90 a ticket for all home games so please don't call football wearing fans riff raff. Anyway back on topic Murphy seem's to be handling all the other stuff that's happening in his life quite well.
has Ronnie left his partner?
has Ebdon left his wife?
has Murphy left his wife?
who cares? dont boo him, he is a professional snooker player, this is the biggest tournament of the season for him, respect that he has the right to go out there and try and win. if the off the table stuff bothers you, speak to him after the tournament.
Ebdon and his wife have split
Maybe they were booing him for his unforgivable actions docking Maguire a frame for forgetting his chalk all those years ago - something I've not forgiven him for.
Great player but unfortunately does himself no favours and comes across as a bit of a plonker sometimes.
Anon 12.26am
You presume wrong. My comments are aimed at keeping the riff raff out. If people want to wear football shirts that's their choice. I have no beef with what people wear. Do you feel silly now for a completely wrong assumption?
For the in-laws of Murphy's wife Claire to turn up at The Crucible and sit there booing when he is introduced is sad and displaying a lack of worldliness on their part.
Must be some kind of throwbacks to medievil times, why not at least throw rotten tomatoes?
Utter saddos.
The only criticism of Murph I would make is that he couldn't see he was marrrying into a group of self serving oddballs in the first place.
His wife's family are obviously NOT Christians if that is what they are doing.
christians are human beings
religious people sin too
so, becaus esomeone does something that you think, or even is outwith their religious beliefs doesnt make them not religious
Anon 10:34 your the 1 that should feel a bit silly by thinking riff raff people can't afford ticket's doh
all depends on the term riff raff
Anon 2:57 pm
You're and not 'your'; no apostrophe needed on the plural of ticket; and riff-raff is a collective noun for a group of disreputable people, so no need to add 'people' on the end. Do you feel a bit silly? Doh!
Anon 8:16 you put 'your'; what's this why is there a dot on top of the , DOH LMAO feel a bit silly also there's a good lad jog on lol, oh and by the way i did not know you needed a-level's to post every post correctly. Sorry sir how many spank's of your cane do i get? LMFAO sum people.
You into bondage as well 8:16pm?
When I think about the relationship break-ups of people I know, both sides normally consider themselves to be 100% in the right while the other party is 100% in the wrong. The truth is normally somewhere in between, and I suspect this is the same in Shaun's case.
The fact remains that Shaun's problems are none of our business and booing him is totally unacceptable.
Anon 8:16PM
Have you ever heard of a semi-colon? It's called punctuation; it helps people understand what you mean. It also shows a level of intelligence. What an idiot you're making of yourself! Or should that be 'your'!?
Seriously, your standard of English is abysmal. You don't need A-Levels to post here, just a very basic understanding of English. Why do you insist on adding an apostrophe to all plurals? LOL, what an idiot!
;
what level of intelligence have i got now i have posted one?
A Ferrari lawyer may call Shaun, "Supremely arrogant".
He's good for the game, but currently he's reaping what he has sown...
Andy
andy
can you put the above post into idiot terms for me to understand?
ta
Anon,
I don't know if you're an F1 fan, but a few weeks ago, Brawn GP won their case to keep their "double-decker-diffuser" based on Ross Brawn's interpretation of the new rules. Ferrari are lagging in the championship and disagreed with Brawn's interpretation, their only real defence was to name-call and call Ross Brawn a "supremely arrogant man".
As an analogy, it doesn't fit that well. :o) But Murphy comes across as a strong minded individual who generally believes he is doing the right thing, both privately and publicly. I think you always have to admire a person for their unconditional belief in themselves and their beliefs, be it religion, or anything else.
This can backfire when you're in the public eye, because people can interpret this as "preaching" and I think the public are cottoning on to this with Murphy.
On the face of it, Murphy seems to be the instigator of the split with his estranged wife, something I didn't know until I read the tabloids. For no reason at all, I thought Claire was instigator of the split and felt some sympathy for Murphy. This of course could be complete rubbish as we all know how the tabloids can lie and exploit people from time to time. Still, it seems the majority of the public believed what I believed until Claire came out in the tabloids. Rightly or wrongly, when in the public eye, hiding your personal life from the masses can be a dangerous game as Murphy is beginning to find out.
On the plus side, I like Murphy and I think he's one of the best players in the game, that's good for the game. He advertises it very well and in the correct manner. The game would be poorer without him.
But for some reason, as an onlooker from the outside, Murphy's private life seems to be imploding on him.
Andy
ta
Have no time for Murphy generally but any player getting booed is not what you want to see.
Murphy is just another sports star who has risen to the top very quickly and cannot handle the fame and money, which have turned his head completely. He is in danger of losing his original values, if he hasn't already. He can appear smug and self satisfied, and this puts a lot of people off. Also, his habit of staying down on the table after he has played his shot - for much longer than any other player - is very annoying.
However, the main reason many followers of the game do not like him is the incident a few years ago during his match with Stephen Maguire, a great player who is popular and down to earth. Maguire came out to start the session, but had forgotten his chalk and asked the referee's permission to go and get it. Whilst he was away Murphy spoke to the referee, who in turn consulted with the tournament director, and it was decided that Maguire should forfeit a frame. Snooker is supposed to be a gentlemanly game with rules of etiquette, and Murphy's intervention was seen by many as being extremely unsporting and opportunistic.
He's at the top of his sport now, but to stay there he needs to take a long hard look at himself and try to find some true character again. It's time in fact for him to practise what he preaches.
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