Laila Rouass has waded into boyfriend Ronnie O’Sullivan’s bitter row with Ali Carter by bringing up a historic comment made by Carter about his rival’s potential to win another World Snooker Championship. Rouass has told the 44-year-old to ‘hush your mouth’ and to ‘concentrate on your own snooker’ over his feud with O’Sullivan.
The pair have shared a frosty relationship for years but tensions were heightened after they met in the Masters final earlier in January. Carter accused the victorious O’Sullivan of “snotting all over the floor”.
O’Sullivan responded with a fiery expletive-laden rant in which he raised his middle finger and said his opponent could “sit on it”. He then said Carter should “sort his f***ing life out”.
The public spat has continued for several weeks and O’Sullivan’s girlfriend has now taken aim at Carter. Rouass pointed out that the world No. 10 once said O’Sullivan would not win another world title, with the Rocket stuck on six.
O’Sullivan later won in 2022 to become the joint-record holder for most World Championship triumphs, alongside Stephen Hendry.
Speaking on Instagram, Rouass said: “Ali Carter said four or five years ago that Ronnie doesn’t have another World Championship win in him. What did he go and do? He went and won.
“That didn’t age well, did it Ali Carter? Now hush your mouth and be a good boy. Concentrate on your snooker and nobody else’s.”
Carter was unhappy with O’Sullivan’s conduct during their Masters final, which the seven-time world champion won 10-7 on January 14. He accused O’Sullivan of “snotting all over the floor”.
Informed in his press conference of what Carter had alleged, O’Sullivan raised his middle finger and blasted: “He can sit on it as far as I’m concerned. I don’t give a f***. You know what he’s like, everybody knows what he’s like. He’s got issues.
“F****** why has he got issues with me? I’m not having it. I don’t care, grow some balls. I don’t give a f***. The more he brings it on, the more I f****** punish him every time. He’s just digging a grave for himself. He needs to sort his f****** life out. I haven’t spoken to him for 20 years.” O’Sullivan is yet to discover if he’ll face any action for his comments but snooker bosses are currently investigating the matter.
Carter, meanwhile, continued the tension at the World Grand Prix this week. He told ITV: “It makes no difference to me what he says. He says different things on different days. I don’t think he even knows what is going to come out of his mouth at certain times.
“I actually feel a bit sorry for him. I don’t think he is that well. So we move forward and we go again this week.”