Hossein Vafaei urges 'disrespectful' Ronnie O'Sullivan to quit after 'numpties' rant ahead of World Snooker Championship

Hossein Vafaei became the first Iranian player to qualify for the World Championship, but opted to use the platform to slam six-time winnerRonnie O'Sullivan for being «disrespectful» to snooker and urged the Rocket to «retire» after his tongue-in-cheek «numpties» rant on Eurosport's digital channels. World No. 18 Vafaei completed a 10-9 win over Lei Peifan on the final black of the final qualifier at the English Institute of Sport on Wednesday to secure his spot in the draw for the last 32 for the sport's blue-chip event.

Ad/> The Shoot Out winner could land O'Sullivan in a potential grudge match in the first round with the top 16 seeds and 16 qualifiers discovering their opening opponents for the 46th World Championship at 11:00 BST on Thursday (LIVE on Eurosport). World ChampionshipEmotional Clarke seals stunning win over former champion Dott, Stevens bests Carter12 HOURS AGO Defending champion Mark Selby and second seed O'Sullivan will both face a qualifier on the opening day in Sheffield on Saturday. /> «Of course.

A lot of things he says frustrates me. What kind of legend are you if you call people numpties?» Vafaei is quoted as saying in the Metro. «I was and am still good friends with him, but I don’t like that.

Maybe he likes it and gives him a good feeling, but I think people should treat him like that as well. I treat him like he deserves.» Vafaei has also accused the record 38-time ranking event winner O'Sullivan of attracting negative publicity for the sport by telling Eurosport he would not encourage his children to take up the sport during the Scottish Open before Christmas. «That was very bad words, very bad for our sport.