Alan McManus has warned Hossein Vafaei that he's "playing a dangerous game" after stepping up his war of words with Ronnie O'Sullivan.
The pair will meet in the last 16 of the Snooker World Championship on Friday, with the contest at the Crucible billed as a grudge match. That's because Vafaei will face defending champion O'Sullivan for the first time since calling on him to retire last year, claiming that the English icon was "not good for the game" and "sometimes disrespectful" with his comments about other players.
After beating Chinese star Ding Junhui 10-6 in the first round on Monday, world number 23 Vafaei upped the ante by saying he has an "opportunity for revenge" against O'Sullivan, who's already told the Iranian: "Don't rattle my cage." Now Vafaei, 28, has also been warned over his behaviour by McManus, recalling comments which O'Sullivan made 21 years ago before being left red-faced.
Looking ahead to Friday's clash, the retired Scot said on Eurosport in reference to Vafaei's inflammatory comments: "There are two sides to this. Firstly, cast your mind back 21 years, Ronnie played Stephen Hendry in a semi-final here and he called Stephen out before it. He said, 'I'm gonna send him home to his sad, little life back in Scotland, I'm gonna give him a good old dusting'.
"It didn't happen. You have to be careful when you're walking a very thin tightrope when you say these things against the very best players this game has had to offer, so that's a risk. The other side of it; he said something there, Hossein, that I really liked, 'This is just the beginning', and I kinda believe him in some of that because of his performance against Ding... I thought he was outstanding.
"But to reiterate he's playing a dangerous game because Ronnie doesn't live in an ivory tower. He will get the message loud and clear, and when he gets the message he'll act on it. It's set up beautifully and there's gonna be some needle there, but it's gonna be a heck of a snooker match as well."
Have your say! Who'll come out on top - Vafei or O'Sullivan? Let us know your prediction in the comments section.
After O'Sullivan claimed on Sunday that Vafaei had recently "learned to be quiet", the 28-year-old wasted no time in making his voice heard again and even put on an Essex accent as he criticised the world number one for regularly making excuses after defeats. "He is a legend of the sport but he is such a nice person when he's asleep," Vafaei told BBC Sport.
"He disrespected me before and God has given me an opportunity for revenge, so it depends on me. I have to stand up in front of him if I want to be world champion. Get your popcorn, everyone."
Vafaei and O'Sullivan's best-of-25 contest at the Crucible starts at 2pm on Friday.
