On April 14, 2022, Beijing time, the Snooker World Championships ended the qualifying competition, and Hussein Wafi from Iran defeated Lei Peifan 10-9, becoming the first Iranian player to qualify for the World Championships, creating a new history in his career. After the game, Waffy, who had always been relatively silent and mild-mannered, shelled O'Sullivan, bluntly saying that he did not respect young people, did not do enough to promote snooker, and made it clear that O'Sullivan should retire.
Hussein Wafi has performed well this season and is another player with great strength in Asia Snooker. He won the single-time limited time tournament, becoming the first player in Iran to win the ranking tournament. His world ranking has reached the top 20, and many experts are optimistic that he can become the dark horse of this World Championship.
In the qualifying round, Hussein Wafi lived up to expectations, winning 6-0 in the third round against Hittenberg, and in the fourth round, although in average form, he still passed the decider, defeated Repefan 10-9, becoming the first Iranian to advance to Crucible, ushering in a new breakthrough in his career.
After the match, Hussein Wafi took aim at O'Sullivan in an interview with Eurosport. He began by saying that O'Sullivan was a legend, that he liked him, and that perhaps he and O'Sullivan were friends. However, Hussein Wafi did not like some of O'Sullivan's words, such as his fierce criticism of young people, his discouragement of young people beating snooker, etc., which in Wafi's view was not good for the snooker movement.
Wafi also said O'Sullivan doesn't need to remind us how many titles he's won because after all these years we can't even see the sport improve. Wafi then said that O'Sullivan didn't seem to be doing much to promote the sport, and if he had such an influence, he would do his best to help others and promote the sport vigorously.
At the end of the interview, Wafi was very excited, saying that O'Sullivan should retire and that young people will make the sport stronger.
Wafi's remarks resonated with some, and of course there was a lot of opposition. Many people say O'Sullivan criticizes the youngsters, perhaps to motivate the youngsters, because the younger generation really does not have too good players, especially the British mainland is a bit of a green feeling. If O'Sullivan is to retire, he should be defeated.
In addition, some fans said that Wafi has not yet won a weighty championship, but it is really inappropriate to criticize O'Sullivan here. Next, it depends on how O'Sullivan responds, maybe the upcoming World Championships, the two have a chance to meet?