Crowd favourite Ronnie O'Sullivan could be in serious trouble after lewd comments he made in a press conference at the Honghe Industrial China Open.

The sport's governing body, World Snooker, is reviewing a video in which the two-time world champion made sexual innuendoes and suggestive comments in front of the assembled media in Beijing.

O'Sullivan can be heard making sexual references towards journalists on a Chinese video-sharing website.

The Englishman's comments came in between questioning following his surprise 5-4 defeat to Hong Kong's Marco Fu in the last 32 stage of this season's £250,000 tournament at the Beijing Sports Gymnasium.

While a Chinese translator was taking questions from the press, O'Sullivan looked bored and then brandished a hand-held microphone suggestively. He then made a further sexual reference and began laughing.

O'Sullivan's antics in China are not the first time he has been in trouble with World Snooker.

In May 2007 the Chigwell-based professional was fined £21,000 for walking out of his Maplin UK Championship quarter-final with Scotland's Stephen Hendry.

Nine years prior to that a youthful O'Sullivan was fined £30,000 for assaulting a snooker official - and then in 1998 the 32-year-old also failed a drug test when he tested positive for cannabis. He was subsequently stripped of his Irish Masters title.

A World Snooker spokesperson said: "We have received the footage and it is under review."

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