Some of the refs have got it in for me – Ronnie
RONNIE O’Sullivan claimed that some referees “have it in for me” after he crashed out of the World Snooker Championship with a 13-10 quarter-final defeat to Stuart Bingham on Wednesday night.
Bingham, the 2015 champion, reeled off the last three frames to secure a famous win, but it was overshadowed by a bizarre incident in the 12th frame involving O’Sullivan and referee Desislava Bozhilova.
O’Sullivan was initially praised for an act of sportsmanship when opting to play safe rather than pot a red close to the black because he believed the seven-point ball had not been spotted correctly.
O’Sullivan repeatedly asked the match official to replace the ball because he believed it was rolling fractionally off its spot, incorrectly giving him the option to pot it.
The world number one, who was 14 points behind and on a break of 20, eventually lost the frame but was hailed for his gesture.
However O’Sullivan provided a different take on the incident, telling Eurosport: “To be honest with you, some of the refs, I think they’ve got it in for me, so I just wanted to prove to her that she got it wrong.
“I didn’t feel good about potting the ball after that, but I just wanted to make the point. The point was made. I’m not that hungry to win it in that way, so once the principle’s been made I can sleep at night.”
O’Sullivan also told Bozhilova to “chill” after an incident in which she asked him to resume playing while he waited for some spectators to retake their seats in the arena.
Bingham, who entered the event in real danger of dropping out of the world’s top 32, relished his chance to join the illustrious list of multiple world champions, having taken the title back in 2015.
“Everyone will be looking at the draw thinking, ‘This is my chance to be world champion’,” he said. “I can’t take it for granted, but there aren’t many people who have won it twice.”