‘Just chill’ – Ronnie O’Sullivan and referee clash for second time during tense quarter-final
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Updated 01/05/2024 at 20:34 GMT
Ronnie O’Sullivan urged referee Desislava Bozhilova to “chill” in the 21st frame of his quarter-final against Stuart Bingham. Fans watching the match on the other side of the arena were returning from the mid-session interval as O’Sullivan sized up a red with the pair locked at 10-10. The seven-time world champion went back to his chair until the melee eased but eventually lost the frame.
‘Just chill’ - O’Sullivan and referee clash amid crowd noise
Ronnie O’Sullivan asked referee Desislava Bozhilova to “chill” during the final session of his quarter-final against Stuart Bingham after he refused to come to the table while fans watching the match on the other side of the arena trickled in.
It was the second incident of the day between O’Sullivan and Bozhilova, with ‘The Rocket’ turning down a red in the 12th frame after being left displeased with how the black had been respotted.
Fast forward to the 21st frame and O’Sullivan again appeared to take exception with Bozhilova’s handling of proceedings.
With the tussle between Kyren Wilson and John Higgins about to resume after the mid-session interval, fans had started to return as O’Sullivan sized up an important red following a Bingham miss.
The pair were locked at 10-10, so rather than rush the shot or take it on amid all the background noise, O’Sullivan went back to his chair as Bozhilova urged the spectators to return to their seats quickly.
“Would you take your seats quickly, and then hold the door closed for a minute,” Bozhilova said, while Dominic Dale and Phil Yates agreed on commentary for Eurosport that O’Sullivan was “doing exactly the right thing”.
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‘Some referees have got it in for me’ – O’Sullivan on black spot incident
Satisfied, Bozhilova then gestured to O’Sullivan to come back to the table, but the seven-time world champion remained unconvinced.
“But we might wait 20 minutes,” Bozhilova said.
“It’s not 20 minutes. Just chill, chill,” O’Sullivan replied.
“I’m chilled,” the referee insisted.
O’Sullivan then got to his feet and duly slotted the red into the top-right corner, although he would go on to miss a simple red and lose the frame to fall 11-10 behind, eventually losing the match 13-10.
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