SHAUN MURPHY has claimed that toilet breaks are “ruining the game” of snooker.
The 42-year-old has called out his fellow snooker stars for “gamesmanship” that is a “blight on our sport”.
Shaun Murphy is sick of waiting around for other players to use the toilet[/caption]
Murphy, who won the Masters last month, has suggested that most toilet breaks taken in snooker these days are purely tactical and have nothing to do with needing a comfort break.
Snooker players are obviously allowed to use the bathroom when needed given how long a match can take in high-stakes tournaments.
However, the Magician thinks that the breaks are becoming more of a problem than anything.
Speaking on the onefourseven podcast, Murphy said: “Toilet breaks. We have to talk about the epidemic of toilet breaks that are spoiling snooker action.
“It is now getting ridiculous, guys. It is getting totally out of hand. It is ridiculous how many times players are leaving the arena to go to the loo.
“And here’s where it gets spicy, because most of these exits from the arena have got nothing to do with players needing to go for a wee, it’s good old fashioned gamesmanship.
“My opponent last week went to the toilet after the first frame of the match, then after the fifth frame after the interval.
“You’ve had 20-odd minutes to be ready to play. What’s going on? It’s getting ridiculous. It’s a joke.”
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He continued: “Remember the old days when the BBC used to take absolute pelters for the amount of afternoon sessions that had to go off from live and onto the red button?
“I spoke to someone very high up about this and they said the biggest contributing factor was the amount of unscheduled breaks the players took.
“I think it’s ruining the game, I’ve got to be honest, I think it’s one of the biggest blights on our sport.
“I go to the theatre quite a lot, imagine if you went to see a show and 15 minutes in the lead said, ‘Sorry guys I’m just going to nip off.’
“It can’t happen in any other form of entertainment. It’s totally ridiculous!”
It would be hard to put a rule in place forbidding players from using the facilities during games, given the circumstances for which they are asking to take a break.
However, pace of play has become an issue recently with Stephen Hendry blasting that “snooker isn’t fun to watch anymore” due to slow play on the baize.
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