Robbie McGuigan break halted by bizarre referee gaffe at Northern Ireland Open

ByAndrew Wright

Updated 23/10/2023 at 09:18 GMT

The referee in the first-round match between Muhammad Asif and Robbie McGuigan at the Northern Ireland Open made a bizarre error in the fifth frame, picking up the cue ball by mistake while it was still moving. McGuigan, a local teenager, was at the table when the incident occurred and had just potted the pink as he closed in on victory, before the referee briefly halted his progress.

A snooker referee endured a moment to forget in the first-round match of the Northern Ireland Open between Muhammad Asif and Robbie McGuigan.

McGuigan was leading 3-1 in the best-of-seven encounter and was at the table as he closed in on victory when the incident occurred.

The 19-year-old confidently potted the pink into the middle to land on a choice of two reds when the referee, Alex Crisan, picked up the white by mistake and attempted to place it on the pink spot.

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Quickly realising his error, he did his best to return the balls to their rightful place, much to the bemusement of Asif sitting in his chair.

Not quite the sort of thing that would have settled McGuigan's nerves either as the Northern Irishman attempted to progress through the opening round of his home tournament.

Luckily, it didn't deter the teenager, who won the frame and the match 4-1 - having earlier made breaks of 56 and 91 to impress in front of his own fans.

Referee picks up cue ball by mistake during McGuigan v Asif at Northern Ireland Open

The reward for McGuigan's brilliant performance and his ability to keep his composure - as Crisan momentarily lost his - is a meeting with Anthony McGill - after he saw off snooker legend Jimmy White.

• Mark Allen beats Ben Mertens to advance to second round of Northern Ireland Open
• Northern Ireland Open snooker 2023 - Latest scores, results, schedule, order of play

McGuigan's compatriot Mark Allen also made it through to the second round with a 4-0 win over Ben Mertens.

Allen was well below his best but had enough firepower to see off the Belgian.

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