Why Ronnie O’Sullivan was given special exemption to escape strict snooker rule

Ronnie O’Sullivan was previously in breach of a long-standing rule during his matches, just by entering the arena.

The snooker icon booked his place in he final of the World Grand Prix this weekend after comfortable beating Ding Junhui last Saturday.

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Victory in Sunday’s final against Judd Trump will see The Rocket net a whopping £100,000 in prize money in what has been a blistering start to 2024.

O’Sullivan has already claimed Masters success this month following his win over Ali Carter and success on Sunday over the No.1 ranked Trump would move him further up the rankings from his current position of fifth.

Away from his success at the table, the 48-year-old was previously in breach of a long-standing rule during matches, owing to his struggles with plantar fasciitis.

The painful condition derives from inflammation between the heel bone and toes causing O’Sullivan to change his footwear to something more comfortable, despite it breaking etiquette as per snooker’s code of conduct.

The dress code asks that players only wear formal shoes that are befitting of wearing a dress or lounge suit.

However, fans had spotted O’Sullivan wearing black trainers during competition, in recent months.

The star found that the conventional leather-soled footwear would ‘batter’ his feet whilst competing.

“I’ve got plantar fasciitis, which is, the easiest way to explain. It is it’s like a bruise on your heel,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport.

“So when you go to put your foot down, it’s really sore. Leather-soled shoes just absolutely batter my feet to pieces.

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“I’ve had to resort to getting some really big old soles on them, just to sort of give my foot a rest, basically.”

O’Sullivan was later given special exemption from the rule during matches at the World Grand Prix in Leicester.

Meanwhile, O’Sullivan’s wish to have more events staged in Asia is set to come to fruition after the World Snooker Tour confirmed that the World Grand Prix will be moving from the UK to Hong Kong next March, in plans to globalise the sport.

The Rocket has spoken on the amount of events held in the UK compared to other parts of the world and called on authorities to revamp the calendar.

He told the BBC last year: “If I can’t go and do what I need to do, which is play a lot in China, I won’t ever play again so we’re at a kind of crossroads now.

“If that gets to the point where I’m not able to do that, I’m not allowed to do that, I probably won’t play. I’ll probably go and play Chinese 8-Ball because I still want to play snooker, I still want a cue in my hand.

“There’s just not enough here in the UK for me to justify the effort that I put in. If someone’s going to respect me and value me more, why would I not go there? It’s like being in an unhealthy relationship with someone, why would you be in that?

“I’d love to be able to just keep playing snooker for the next five, six, seven, eight years, but if I’m going to be forced into a situation where that’s not possible, then I’m not going to just accept whatever 132 players do, which is to go and play tournament after tournament, week in, week out.”