MCLC: snooker ace's anti-China tweets

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: james eyre (j.p.eyre at gmail.com)
Subject: snooker ace's anti-China tweets
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Dear list members,

Possibly a little "low-brow" for the MCLC LIST; however, worth a read in
my opinion. What with snooker/pool playing such a major part within this
culture at present... And, the rising stars internationally coming out of
here.

Regards,

James Eyre

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Source: The Mirror (2/29/12):
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/snooker/silly-little-boy-allen-c
omes-747767#.T08i9NMGiRE.mailto

"Silly little boy" Allen comes under fire for Twitter outburst
Snooker ace's anti-China tweets have landed him in trouble with snooker's
authorities in Beijing

Snooker bad boy Mark Allen is facing a massive fine after an amazing
attack on the locals at the Haikou China Open.

Top brass in this country have hit the roof after a string of insulting
tweets from the Northern Ireland cueman ahead of the event in Beijing.

Soon after arriving, world No.12 Allen tweeted yesterday: "This place is
horrendous!"

"Dead cat found this morning. Any wonder this place stinks. Must be dead
cats all round the town."

Allen, 25, added: "Journey a nightmare. People are ignorant. Place stinks.
Arena's rubbish, tables poor, food is horrendous. Other than that I love
China."

He went on: "Just to let everyone know, I'm not spoilt, disrespectful or
ungrateful. Simply telling it how it is."

He later backtracked ­ sort of ­ tweeting: "Might've been a bit harsh a
few hours ago in my tweet. Not all Chinese people are ignorant. I stand by
everything else though."

Challenged on his views by fans, Allen went on: "So it's ok to stand and
spit next to someone while waiting on an elevator?? Or p*** lying in the
street?? Didn't think so."

Incredibly, Allen's comments have come after the second of two letters was
sent out to all players only last week reminding them that they are
ambassadors for the sport and warning them about their comments on Twitter.

Snooker chiefs are particularly angry as the letters reminded players that
they are role models who are looked up to by youngsters.

The missives were sent out after former world champions Mark Williams and
Ronnie O'Sullivan publicly criticised the snooker shoot-out tournament in
Blackpool earlier this year.

But Allen's gaffe is particularly sensitive as it comes at a time when the
sport is as popular in China as it was in Britain at its peak in the 80s.

World Snooker chiefs fear Allen's comments could go down particularly
badly with sponsors in the Far East.

WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson said last night: "Mark Allen"s comments are
extremely disappointing considering that China is a great friend of our
sport."

"There has been a massive effort from China to support our players and I
am sure this is an isolated view from one player.Our players must
understand that their views expressed in the public arena can have a
catastrophic effect on the games development. These comments will now be
reviewed by the WPBSA disciplinary committee."

This week's controversy is the latest in a growing list associated with
Allen.

Last month he was fined and warned as to his future conduct after swearing
during a press conference at the UK Championships in York.

Allen had also called on World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn to resign as
part of a series of damning criticisms of the entrepreneur¹s reign so far.

Hearn responded by threatening legal action and branding Allen "a silly
little boy".

Allen turned up for his subsequent post-match press conference with his
mouth covered up by a piece of black tape and initially sat in silence for
around 15 seconds before eventually agreeing to speak.

He and Hearn have since resolved their differences but Allen also clashed
with fellow professional Stuart Bingham last year, accusing him of having
"no bottle and no balls" at the Australian Goldfields Open in July.