O’sullivan in referee row during final at Crucible
Ronnie O’sullivan accused referee Olivier Marteel of “looking for trouble” after an angry exchange marred the opening session of the World Snooker Championship final against Judd Trump in Sheffield.
Marteel admonished O’sullivan for making an obscene gesture after the six-time champion failed to get out of a snooker in the eighth frame, prompting a plainly irritated O’sullivan to challenge the official to check the camera and insist he “saw nothing”.
World Snooker Tour confirmed the incident in a statement which read: “R on nieo’ sullivan received a formal warning from the referee following a gesture he made in the eighth frame.”
O’sullivan, who ended the session with a 5-3 lead, denied any offence in an interview with Eurosport, saying: “I just think he (Marteel) seems to be looking for trouble. I just get that vibe from the guy. They’ve got hundreds of cameras out there and they can go and check them all. i’ m not going to have any of it because I think he’s just trying to create something. He needs to deal with it, not me.”
O’sullivan is already facing an investigation by the WPBSA disciplinary committee for allegedly making a lewd gesture after missing a black in the 13th frame of his10-5first-roundwinover Dave Gilbert.
He had earlier complained to Marteel about a security guard who was moving in his line of sight during the third frame, then the pair became embroiled in a lengthy exchange over the placing of the white after a miss in the fourth frame.
At the end of last night’s session, O’sullivan had extended his lead to 12-5.