O'Sullivan punished for comments

World champion Ronnie O'Sullivan has been fined by World Snooker and docked ranking points for lewd comments at a media conference at the China Open.

The 32-year-old lost the 700 ranking points he earned for his first-round defeat by Marco Fu in Beijing, but he will remain world number one.

O'Sullivan was fined £2,750 and a spokesman for O'Sullivan said: "Ronnie has accepted his punishment.

"He realises he made a mistake, but he never intended to offend anyone."

O'Sullivan's sexually suggestive comments were branded as "unacceptable" by World Snooker chairman Sir Rodney Walker and the matter was referred to a disciplinary committee.

606: DEBATE
"The punishment is about right so it's time to move on"
oneball2

"He wants to forget what happened and move forward," added the spokesman for O'Sullivan's management company 110Sport.

"He has apologised to World Snooker, the promoter of the China Open, his fans and also to his sponsors.

"He is keen to get on with his career and continue demonstrating why he is regarded as the best player in the world."

O'Sullivan had already apologised for his comments, admitting he was embarrassed by his actions and chastising himself for letting down his family with his behaviour at the tournament in March.

Since then, he has won his third world title with a comprehensive 18-8 defeat of Ali Carter in the final in April.

In May 2007 O'Sullivan was fined after walking out of a match against Stephen Hendry, and he was banned and fined in 1996 for assaulting a snooker official.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
World Snooker
Official world rankings
BBC South Yorkshire
The Crucible
Ronnie O'Sullivan
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites