Campionul mondial Ronnie O'Sullivan vrea    sa  "ia ceva timp off", de la   competitiile  de  snooker  după ce a refuzat să semneze contractul de jucator oficial.

       Declaraţia sa :

                 "Nu am semnat un contract de jucător  pentru  ca simt  ca  clauzele contractului sunt prea oneroase."Barry Hearn a confirmat ştirea pe site-ul Snooker Mondial, spunând :  "pur şi simplu nu pot face excepţii pentru cerinţele  venite  de la  un singur jucător  individual".

He added: "Ronnie is at liberty to enter our events and play on the circuit at any time, once he agrees to abide by the rules of the players' contract."

By refusing to sign the players' contract, O'Sullivan has made himself ineligible to participate in any World Snooker-sanctioned event - including Premier League Snooker,  a tournament he has won for the past two years.

O'Sullivan still intends to play snooker away from the official circuit, however.

"I still want to play snooker and visit those places around the world such as China where snooker is enthusiastically received and adored," he said in his statement.

"I hope to remain involved in the sport in some way in the future."

O'Sullivan clinched his fourth world championship with an 18-11 victory over Ali Carter in May, and afterwards spoke of his desire to take a six-month sabbatical from the sport.

He has recently spoken out over the changes Hearn has made to the sport's schedule, accusing the World Snooker boss of "blackmailing" players.

O'Sullivan told BBC Sport last month: "Part of me still wants to play but I was that ill trying to keep up with the schedule, getting letters from World Snooker, and I'm not prepared to put myself under that stress.

"I know there's a big responsibility to promote the game and I'd play in any tournament if it was physically possible.

"But it's up to the governing body to treat the players right and say they don't expect players to travel to 27 tournaments a year."