Ronnie O’Sullivan is widely regarded by fans of the sport as the greatest snooker player of all time, and last Sunday he underlined those credentials by winning his eighth Masters title.
But does O’Sullivan get the public recognition he deserves? Today, one of our readers argues that Ronnie the Rocket deserves a knighthood.
Alan Fitzpatrick of Dunlop writes:
"Ronnie O’Sullivan’s extraordinary sporting achievements are long overdue for proper recognition. It was a disgrace that he was ignored recently as a candidate for the award of BBC Sports Personality of 2023, which in my view he would have won easily in a less than remarkable field.
"He has dominated the sport of snooker for years, and in addition to accumulating seven World Championships, to rub it in he has just added his eighth Masters title, feats unlikely to be repeated.
"At the ripe old age for a top snooker player of 48, he is to some a bit of a Marmite character because he is prone to the occasional sweary outburst. That is understandable in top sporting personalities having regard to the immense pressure under which they all compete, but like him or not it is surely time for a knighthood to be added to his OBE. Apart from anything else, that would go some way to restoring a little belief in the honours system which some surprising awards over recent years have devalued to the point of ridicule."
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