Shaun Murphy hardly endeared himself to the neutrals by refusing to allow Neil Robertson leave to get his extension from his dressing room during frame five tonight.
It was hard to hear in commentary, but I'm told by someone who was in the arena that when the referee, Eirian Williams, asked Murphy if he minded if Robertson went to retrieve the equipment, the 2005 world champion replied with a fair amount of sarcasm: "Why don't we go out for a cup of tea as well?" [note: this is second hand, I didn't hear him say it myself]
That said, it was Neil's own fault for not bringing it back into the arena after the interval.
stephen maguire will now have company in the form of neil robertson then
ReplyDeleteMr smug strike's again
ReplyDeleteSo much for Christian charity. What a complete hypocrite. He promotes himself as some worthy role model, but lots of small incidents over the years start to make it clear why Murphy was bullied at school.
ReplyDelete'He shouldn't be doing that miss.' 'If you allow him to do that sir, I'm telling the headmaster.'Is it any wonder there were boos for him when he entered the arena earlier in the tournament?
A very odious individual. A very good snooker player.
Murphy is doing a good job of turning himself into a pantomime villian. Snooker could do with a nemisis pantomime villian right now.
ReplyDeleteNeil has been doing a fine impression of Jimmy White / Alex Higgins, falling short positionally on a regular basis and having to tonk it right round the table to make up for it. My kind of player.
i really want to like murphy but it gets harder when he does something like this. It will put a bit of niggle in the match now. . . Hopefully.
ReplyDeleteRob Walker introduces him as "A class act, on and off the baize!"
ReplyDeleteThen he throws a hissy fit and comes across like one of those jobsworth parking attendants penalising you for arriving back at your car 5 seconds late. Hilarious...
And people wonder why snooker is in the state it is in.
Dave what is the rule for this? Surely the referee should decide, or couldn't an official have gone instead?
ReplyDeleteI think it's wrong of you to spread rumours based on hearsay, Dave.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as Neil Robertson actually said at the Masters that he thinks the players on the tour are too friendly and that he'd like to see more rivalry, he should have been happy with this. ;)
Hearsay or not, Robertson,s own
ReplyDeletefault and no reason to pause the
frame for his mistake.
The ref should have said no from
the start.
really trying not to hate him
ReplyDeleteand failing
Murphy comes from a golfing background where there are rules set down for instances like this and penalties automatically follow.
ReplyDeleteHowever, snooker has no such rules/laws and someone should remind Murphy of this, especially as the whole precedure of retrieving the extension would have taken 30 seconds.
The dressing rooms are 20 yards away from the table.
Murphy has yet again found a way of geeing up his opponant and allowing sections of the crown to root for the other guy.
Pity really as he was doing so much better on the public relations front than ever before.
Greg - explain your last sentence
ReplyDeleteI m with Murphy on this. It is his right anyway and Robertson's fault. For sure though, it wasnt smart play from him. more reasons for the crowd to detest him
ReplyDeleteWhat really annoyed me about this was that Murphy had pretty much won the frame already. Robertson had made an honest mistake: there was no possible advantage to him in forgetting the extension. Shaun is a marvellous player and could very well win the title, but I can't help hoping he doesn't simply because of behaviour like this.
ReplyDeleteYeah Greg.
ReplyDeleteNo personalities in the game, a 75 minute frame, no WAGS and now this.
The sport is in disarray.
Wasn't it Robertson who was complaining earlier this season that the players were too 'friendly'? Be careful what you wish for Neil...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, after chalk-gate I thought it had been established that you only had to break off and then you could go back out and get your chalk or extension or whatever.
i personally cannot stand murphy in my opinion he is very smug and arrogant the way he comes across no wonder he hasnt many friends on the snooker circuit i remember maguire saying he hated his guts
ReplyDeleteThe danish commentator said that 'chalkgate' was many years in the past and that back then Murphy would use all available means to get somewhere in the world of snooker but added that he is a changed man.
ReplyDeleteApparently not.
Maybe he would even consider repeating the chalk routine if given the chance?
@ Anon 7:52 AM
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what happened: an official picked the extension up from Robertson's dressing room and handed it over right in time before Neil took the shot.
I've never understood the obsession with players having their own extensions anyway. Make 'em use what's provided with the table. Same for both players!
ReplyDeleteThere's a pattern here. Murphy lack of sportsmanship.
ReplyDeleteOriginally built up as the fairytale prince when he's actually not a very nice person.
Stop picking on me.
ReplyDeletei agree keith. make them use pub cues too
ReplyDeletelegoland do you mean TSF?????
ReplyDeleteNo i did not
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that annoys me about Murphy is the way he stays down on shots after he's missed a pot or played a bad shot – that really winds me up.
ReplyDeleteMurphy is beginning to make himself look a complete arse at the moment, he's getting too big for his boots.
This is me Mr Murphy can you all stop bullying me please, i'm whiter than white and never done anything wrong any more and i'm telling Dave.
ReplyDeleteLego any relation to hedge?
ReplyDelete@ Demon Potter: being a healthy lad, Murphy cannot get up quickly from any shot. So whilst it's annoying, it's not his fault.
ReplyDeleteAlso he's not too big for his boots. I'm sure they fit him fine. Anyone else's boots might be a problem though.
What's TFS/TSF?
ReplyDeleteThe Snooker Forum.
ReplyDeleteTSF is cliquey
ReplyDeleteMore on Murphy's fling in the Sunday People today.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.people.co.uk/news/tm_headline=snooker-hero-murphy-and-pound-100-escort&method=full&objectid=21328337&siteid=93463-name_page.html