Hossein Vafaei says he wants to 'shut' Ronnie O’Sullivan’s mouth in astonishing attack on former hero

Hossein Vafaei has said he wants to «shut» Ronnie O'Sullivan's mouth in an astonishing broadside after setting up a second-round showdown with The Rocket at the World Snooker Championship. O'Sullivan and Vafaei have a prickly relationship after they had a tense verbal exchange at last year's championship. Ad Vafaei told O'Sullivan to retire for being «disrespectful» and claimed the seven-time world champion was «not good for the game» , questioning «what has he done for the sport?» World ChampionshipFlawless Vafaei beats Ding to set up O'Sullivan showdown3 HOURS AGO O'Sullivan appeared to be relishing the prospect of a showdown with Vafaei after his first-round win at the Crucible as he warned «don't rattle my cage» in an interview on Eurosport.

Speaking after his emphatic 10-6 win over China's Ding Junhui on Monday, Vafaei has responded to The Rocket in fiery fashion. “The Crucible is going to be my home,” began Vafaei in his post-match interview with Rachel Casey. “I have to play like that and show a performance like that to show the people and shut some people’s mouths.

And to show them what I can do. “This is just the beginning. My best has not come out yet.

If my ‘A’ game comes out, I am definitely going to do some damage.” Asked to clarify whose mouth he was trying to shut, Vafaei was resolute. “Ronnie O’Sullivan,” he said. Vafaei appeared to reference — and take exception to — O’Sullivan's «don't rattle my cage» interview on Eurosport.

“I was quiet and I was respecting him,” he continued. “But I saw so many people sending some interview or something like that. «He is what he is.