Shaun Murphy has claimed that he 'lost to a man who should not be in the tournament' after suffering defeat to Si Jiahui at the UK Championship.
The former world champion fought his way back from 5-1 adrift to level the contest at 5-5, but his Chinese opponent held his nerve during the closing stages to seal a famous win.
While acknowledging that Si deserved his victory, Murphy hit out at the decision to allow amateurs to participate in the competition with Si having lost his tour card last season.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Murphy said: "I feel extremely hard done by that I have lost to someone who shouldn't even be in the building.
"I don't know why we as a sport allow amateurs to compete in professional tournaments. This is our livelihood. This is our living. We are self-employed individuals and not contracted sportsmen. We don't play for a team.
"The other 127 runners and riders in the tournament, it is their livelihood too. It is wrong, in my opinion, to walk into somebody who is not playing with the same pressures and concerns I am.
"He played like a man who does not have a care in the world, because he does not have a care in the world. It is not fair, it is not right. I am not picking on him as a young man, he deserved his victory. Amateurs should not be allowed in professional tournaments, the end."
Murphy has endured a disappointing November, losing in the last 32 of the English Open before suffering a first-round defeat at last week's Champions Of Champions event.
Darren Plant
