World Seniors boss fires back after players’ fury – ‘You’d think’ | Other | Sport

World Seniors Championship boss Jason Francis has taken to social media to vent his frustration and urge for the matter to be put to bed after fresh criticism of the Crucible tournament. Last Thursday, the over‑40s event came under fire when one of the two match tables was deemed unplayable.

It later emerged that a slate beneath the table had dropped, leaving the surface uneven. As a result, the match between Matthew Stevens and Dominic Dale was halted before eventually resuming on the other table once Ali Carter’s clash with Roger Farebrother had finished. The tie between defending champion Alfie Burden and Igor Figueiredo, the last two winners of the tournament, was then moved to a practice table, with family members watching from backstage.

The situation sparked criticism on social media, with former World Seniors player and WSF Championship runner‑up Lee Stephens particularly scathing. He wrote: “This is absolutely disgraceful! World Seniors should be ashamed of themselves! I’m not surprised, however. They make bad decision after bad decision! [The] defending champion out the back, not getting the walk on and the intro [like] that! P*** poor!”

Stephens then received a prompt response from Francis, who told The Express: “Lee was someone who was on the World Seniors Tour but never had any success. He wasn’t good enough. I have no interest in listening to bitter ex-players who just want to have a pop. If he thinks he’s good enough, he should get his cue out and earn his right to play at the Crucible.”

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But the backlash didn’t end there, with Francis later taking to X. In a lengthy post, he wrote: “Been off socials for a week as had a great team on this page and seniors pages… But jeepers some of you would think I’d murdered someone. Apologies have been made to players so let’s put that one to bed. Also if that’s a broom cupboard you’re gonna need a lot of brooms.

“Anyone who knows anything about a suspended floor, a snooker table over a ton in weight and literally no time to let it settle can sometimes have an issue. This was a terrible situation but the practice room table was good, families and friends attended, players got 45 minutes notice, and it was the same conditions for both of them.

“Players are right to be disappointed and upset – I was both. But only I was in possession of ALL the facts and that was the call that had to be made. I would do it again, and it would have made no difference whoever was playing.”

Francis also addressed the issue that affected the tournament on Thursday, saying he had apologised to the players.

“I’ve written to Igor and Alfie and apologised that we were unable to provide a table for them to play on,” he said last week. “It was obvious that there was a major joint and slate drop on table two, which meant it was unplayable. You can’t rectify a table instantly, it requires time. There are mitigating factors around the access we were given to the Crucible.

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“We were only given five hours to set up four snooker tables [including two in the practice area].The fitters who have done the World Snooker Tour for 20 years are here, so there’s no lack of expertise. But the reality is that tables need time to settle. We do the best we can. You can’t mitigate for everything. We are experienced promoters and the team have put in a tremendous effort overnight. We learn and will try to do better. And again, we apologise to Alfie, Igor, Matthew and Dominic.”