‘Snooker is still in the dark ages’ – Rory McLeod hits out at culture around Black players in the sport

Rory McLeod says snooker is “still in the dark ages” when it comes to promoting the sport for Black people, claiming those at the top of the game are “actually doing nothing” to change the culture.

The 51-year-old, a former Ruhr Open winner, is the only elite Black player on the tour but he says despite being a regular on the circuit for more than 20 years, there has been no desire to make the game more inclusive for Black people.

“I’m the representative for Black people in snooker and I haven’t seen anything being done in my direction.

“When you talk about on tour and you’ve got all these different nationalities and races on tour. If there’s not a European on tour – give them a wildcard, get them on tour.

“If there’s not an Indian on tour – give them a wildcard get them on tour. Is there no Australian – give them a wild card get them on tour. South American, American get him on tour. Give him a wild card. No Black player on tour – ahhh don’t worry about that…

“I’m not bitter or anything. I’m just telling you how it is. In snooker I’ve seen no changes and I’d be the first one to notice.”

McLeod says he has received very little sponsorship over his years on the circuit and believes the sport is unappealing to Black players who might be thinking about moving up to the next level. Rather than encouraging them to step up, he says young Black players may be better off in sports like football, because his experience has been a “headache”.

“Maybe snooker is still in the dark ages,” he said.

“I think the people who are in charge of these association establishments of other sports, they’ve probably taken more of a concerned attitude towards it.

“I’ve wondered why snooker, the governing body, hasn’t come to me in order to promote snooker in the Black community, promote me a little bit more in order to get Black people involved in snooker.”

World Snooker ‘very disappointed’ in comments

McLeod’s views have been largely challenged by Jason Ferguson, chairman of The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, who says the sport is doing a lot of work to increase representation.

“I’m very disappointed in Rory’s comments and really they come from a position of Rory McLeod really wanting to have some kind of help to maintain his tour place. What we are is an opportunity for all, providing an opportunity all over the world to qualify for the World Snooker Tour.

“We don’t judge anybody within the sport and look at where they come from and what they do. To say that we’ve done nothing is completely unfair.

“It is about numbers and it is about us trying to improve those numbers.

“We have to not single people out because they’re Black players. We have to say we are a sport for all. It’s about providing an equal opportunity for everybody in the world and that is a challenging thing especially travel as it is at the moment.”