Ronnie O’Sullivan refuses to shake referee’s hand in bizarre germ outburst at Scottish Open
RAPID Ronnie O’Sullivan refused to shake the ref’s hand over germ fears as he gained revenge for his Crucible shock.
The Rocket, 44, took just 32 minutes to smash James Cahill 4-0 in the second round of the Scottish Open in Glasgow.
He hit breaks of 93, 111 and 86 with a blistering average shot time of 12 seconds to beat his World Championship conqueror.
O’Sullivan wanted to fist-pump the ref at the start and when the official tried to shake his hand, he said: “Why are you touching my hands? Germs!”
The No 3 seed, who now faces Martin Gould, said: “I’m a bit OCD when it comes to germs.
"I don’t like touching door handles without using tissues.
“Plus you sometimes get guys who want to crush my hands.”
TRUMP AND SELBY WIN
World No 1 Judd Trump thrashed China’s Yuan Sijun 4-0, while Mark Selby beat Alfie Burden 4-1.
O’Sullivan's "handy" saga followed his crazy “banana” shot controversy during a 4-3 comeback victory over Dominic Dale in round one.
He hit the ball so hard into the middle pocket that the white ball crashed off the table, helping Dale go 3-1 up.
And afterwards he took a dig at slow-playing rival Selby.
most read in sport
O'Sullivan said: “Everyone is not going to enjoy everything.
“Some people love the way I play. They watch me at exhibitions, I get standing ovations.
“Listen, probably a lot of them are Selby fans and you cannot play that type of snooker. People appreciate different types of snooker."