Mark Allen has publicly accused Shaun Murphy of bringing his 'personal feelings' into the BBC commentary box after he was criticised by the Magician at the UK Championship.
Allen was dumped out in the semi-finals by Barry Hawkins, who edged a thrilling contest which went on into the early hours of Sunday morning.
During the match, Murphy accused Allen of deliberately slowing his play in an attempt to unsettle Hawkins and gain a crucial psychological advantage.
"It’s completely within the rules, he’s not doing anything wrong," said Murphy. "But at what stage do we question whether the amount of time Mark Allen is taking over simple decisions is a tactic to annoy his opponent?
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"I think we are witnessing an extremely clever, well thought out match from Mark Allen to try and beat the man. It’s an old-school tactic, it’s from a playbook my generation and Mark’s generation are from and it’s perfectly within the rules.
"But I can’t see any reason other than that for why he’s taking so long. As you look at Barry in his chair, you might say it was working."
Allen has since responded to Murphy's claims by insisting that he was simply trying his best to win the match, urging his rival to leave personal feelings out of his commentary.
He wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "For those criticising, I always give 100 per cent, it might not be pretty at times but I’m trying my best. Some other players could learn from it.
"And as for Shaun in comms. He’s absolutely entitled to his opinion on things but perhaps best to leave personal feelings out of the commentary box in future. All because I called out some of his recent BS."
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Allen was referring to when he suggested Murphy was guilty of contradicting himself earlier this month. He told The Mirror: "I think he’s changed a bit in my view, if I’m honest.
"Some of the things he said just made no sense to the extent some of the things he said recently are completely the opposite of what he’s said in the past. At least if you’re going to speak rubbish, speak rubbish consistently, don’t change your tune."
Allen also singled out Murphy for criticism during the British Open in September, writing on social media: "Actually getting a bit bored of reading Shaun Murphy’s recent views.
"This is someone who’s meant to represent the players at board level but openly criticising the current world champ and others. Baffling behaviour or is it just attention seeking from the yes man?"