The Last 16 matches are underway and I’m sure we can all agree it’s been a thoroughly enjoyable opening round of the World Championship. Six seeds getting knocked out as well as the World Champion and current No. 1. Ronnie O’Sullivan, Ali Carter and Anthony McGill coming back from the brink of defeat. Judd Trump finally showing some bottle and Dennis Taylor reminding us that he is a friend of Jack Lisowski who is left-handed. But there is one mini-debate going on while the cauldron of the Theatre of Dreams simmers away, which is the ban of wearing football shirts at the Crucible.
Surprisingly, this has brought a lot of angst among people over an issue that no one seemed bothered about. Here is the official notice of the ban from World Snooker:
“Sorry football fans…but from this year, spectators are requested to dress smartly in the arena. The Event Promoter requests that no sportswear or team sport shirts are worn. If in the opinion of the Event Promoter an item of clothing is not deemed suitable to wear in the arena the person will be refused admission until such time they have found an alternative item of clothing that is deemed acceptable.” [1]
Now there is a lot of debate as to why this ban came about. Amazingly, this one is neck and neck after I did a poll on it about a week ago! Who’s right and wrong in this?
Do you agree with the recent ban of football shirts at the Crucible by @WorldSnooker1 to clean up the image of #snooker? #WorldSnookerChampionship
— Cluster of Reds (@clusterofreds1) April 24, 2018
FOR
The most widespread reason is to smarten up the game. This is a gentlemanly sport! We can’t have people wearing Oxford United and Millwall shirts in a snooker arena – why would you wear attire of a completely different sport when visiting the Crucible? Common sense dictates that is perfectly legitimate and why would anyone be so silly to do that. You would just look like a bit of a pillock, really?
Each to their own but I'm for the football shirt ban at the Worlds. They're playing at the Crucible Theatre…you wouldn't usually go to the theatre in a football shirt? Just my opinion, though. #bbcsnooker
— Michael Day ⚪🔴🎱🎯 (@ViewCue) April 24, 2018
That isn’t the only or even the main reason though. It’s to do with sponsorship – Betfred, the main sponsors of the World Championship, wouldn’t want logos of their competitors viewable at their event and you can definitely understand that from a business point of view. You have Stoke City with bet365 emblazoned on their shirts, West Ham with Betway and Crystal Palace with a very small budget to get ManBetX. Sounds like a piece of gentleman’s literature to me but let’s move on from that.
The ban on something is another story that Barry Hearn can use to wind people up with. It attracts more crowds and from the sport’s point of view, it will attract more people and reject any fans that are likely to be chavvy, cause fights between rival fans, scruffy – it’s makes snooker smarter. As some cynics still see snooker as a pub sport, with others refusing to see snooker as a sport at all, this may help heighten snooker’s reputation! Besides – it’s just a football shirt, so what is the hassle?
https://twitter.com/PrawnCufflinks/status/988773544053166082
It’s got a fair bit of support from players, pundits and fans alike though. John Parrott and Ken Doherty support this, as it makes the audience much more presentable. Shaun Murphy of course wades into the debate with a variety of reasons to be happy about this:
“I don’t think its got anything to do with possible rival factions in the crowd. I think it’s got to do with we as a sport are trying to get out of our tobacco labelled roots and we’re trying to become a much more aspirational sport. I think you have to have standards, and this tournament goes out to half a billion people around the world. It’s about perception, and if you’re percieved as cheap, you’ll only ever be cheap. And I think Barry is correct to try and raise our standards. And part of that, is how the people on the front row, they’re here every year, they purchase their tickets by rights. Their look, I think, has a knock on effect on how we as a sport are percieved.” [2]
I don’t know what he would look like if he saw a football shit, but I’d imagine it would be like this: (I am not sorry).
AGAINST
Theeeeeeennnnn those who think it is a crazy idea to dictate to people what they can and can’t wear. The biggest critic is from one of the biggest snooker fans around.
Brian Wright, 48, is a front-row regular almost three decades who wears his Coventry City shirt every time he visits. He is such a fan that a few years ago he actually proposed to his other half in the Theatre of Dreams, which is a dream moment for any fan. Now that the ban has been activated, he cannot wear the strip anymore, which is a bigger kicker since Coventry City are sponsored by Allsopp & Allsopp Estate Agents, not a betting company. Which is disgusting, I mean who would support Coventry City? 😉 For those insulted by this, I support Swindon Town – we are much worse!
In all seriousness, he is not happy at all. He described it as a ‘load of rubbish,’ saying:
“Barry Hearn is an absolute disgrace, he wants to bring the sport in line with the darts. I may as well go in dressed as Snow White or a Smurf. He’s a dinosaur and he’s ruining the sport that I love.”
It is rather harsh to see him being singled out because he’s a fan wearing a football shirt. There are other players and fans against it too. Players ranging from Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Allen to Jamie Jones are against this ban, saying the betting company idea is a rather stupid excuse to ban a garment and they question the ignorance that a person wearing a football shirt would cause a riot, with Ronnie O’Sullivan calling it ‘pretty laughable’. A Millwall fan would just steal a chair, to be honest.
No football tops in the arena?! Ok 😂😂😂 https://t.co/dohli2dkay
— Mark Allen (@pistol147) April 20, 2018
There is also a bit of snobbery in this decision too. I think the ban makes snooker look slightly more pompous by banning something materialistic that also has no effect on the players and the fans whatsoever. No-one ever talked or complained about what spectators wear, nor did it ever putt off the players. So if people weren’t initially bothered about it, why ban it at all? It is just a shame that this decision was for commercial reasons. Personally, this decision can only strengthen the grip of betting companies who can take this decision as precedent over how tournaments will be regulated. There is talk to the lack of variety in sponsors in snooker, with Jason Ferguson reassuring us that it won’t just be betting companies, nor are snooker over reliant to the extent the sport was with tobacco companies. I wouldn’t say it is PC, but what will happen?
What was @Magician147 on about regarding football shirts if you want snooker to be classy and break away from tobacco sponsorship you do not bombard the sport with betting companies.
— E JONES (@wildey_1) April 24, 2018
What do you think?
[1] World Snooker., “BETFRED WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – REMINDERS FOR FANS.” (13th April 2018). Accessed on: http://www.worldsnooker.com/betfred-world-championship-reminders-fans/
[2] Sandford, E., “Sky Blues snooker fan gets around football top ban with this genius outfit.” Coventry Live. (25th April 2018). Accessed on: https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-city-shirt-snooker-football-14571557
