Allen frame an ’embarrassment to snooker’ as ref caught up in drama | Other | Sport
The two were caught up in a historically long 14th frame at the Crucible on Friday evening, both men reserved in their play as all of the reds on the table were bunched up surrounding the black on the far pocket. Allen, who held a 43-13 advantage at the time, was determined to kiss the reds with the cue ball and send it rollingh down the other end of the table. Yize, meanwhile, was happy to slowly roll it back toward the pack to ensure a connection was made but not to disturb and misplace the black.
The crowd grew understandably dissatisfied with the frame the longer that it progressed, starting to clap and cheer sarcastically after each shot as a graphic showed on the BBC‘s coverage that a ball hasn’t been potted in around 40 minutes. At one point, a spectator was heard yelling: “Can we have a rerack?” before referee Marcel Eckhardt replied: “Thanks for the advice but we can do it without you.”
The official was also left to plead with audience members to cool down their antics of slow clapping and jeering on multiple occasions as tensions boiled over inside the Crucible Theatre. Eckhardt eventually took control of the game after a word from a higher-up, explaining to both Allen and Yize that they had just three shots to change the play or face a re-rack – a move which was challenged by Allen given he held the advantage.
The Northern Irishman eventually cannoned the reds into the black, sinking the ball in a foul to give Yize a major advantage – before the Chinese sensation eventually clinched the frame 88-62 to level matters and bring an end to a lenghty and hard to watch session.
Unimpressed by the display, Davis gave his take live from the BBC Sport studio in the aftermath. He said: “In a nutshell, that frame’s an embarrassment to snooker, and the referees’ and the players’ association need to try and work out a way that never happens again.”
Kyren Wilson, also vented: “Marcel should have called that a lot earlier. That frame was going nowhere. Quite painful.”
Elsewhere, snooker fans were quick to give their take on social media, also suggesting that Eckhardt should have took more control over the game. One wrote: “The referee was out of his depth having a decision made for him,” while a second added: “Ref had a shocker!!”
A third said: “Worse frame of snooker I’ve ever seen. Ref completely bottled it in the face of Allen’s reluctance to accept his decision.”
As a result of Yize winning the frame, he and Allen return to action on Saturday at 7-7. In the opposing semi-final, meanwhile, Shaun Murphy takes on John Higgins for a spot in the final. They resume play at 8-8 in Friday’s final session of the day.
