A SNOOKER fan was confronted by referee Marcel Eckardt during the World Snooker Championship.
The official approached the crowd after Stuart Bingham missed a crucial shot in the 29th frame.
BBCA cough was heard as Stuart Bingham took a vital shot in the World Snooker Championship semi-final[/caption]
BBCReferee Marcel Eckardt approached the crowd to determine who was coughing[/caption]
Bingham was lining up a shot on the brown, which he needed to sink in order to have any hope of beating Jak Jones at the Crucible.
Jones was one frame away from booking his spot in the final against Kyren Wilson and well on top in the frame.
But as Bingham took his shot, a cough could be heard from the crowd which Marcel later suggested caused the Basildon star to miss his shot.
Eckardt then approached the crowd and wanted to find out who the coughing culprit was.
He said: “Are you alright sir? Are you happy to leave or…
“I will have to ask you to leave.
“Sorry if it was not you. Can we find te person out please, this area has to be quiet please.”
Play then resumed as Jones cleared the table and won the frame to knock out Bingham.
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Bingham did not lament the coughing that saw him exit the tournament.
He insisted that he had not been good enough throughout the match and failed to replicate the form that saw him knockout Ronnie O’Sullivan.
He said: “I must have given eight frames away.
“I must have missed eight or nine blacks off the spot.
“I’m very disappointed, after playing like I did against Ronnie. I just didn’t enjoy it out there.”
Eckardt later apologised to snooker fans who did not understand why the match was delayed.
He wrote: “To clear things up: I witnessed misbehaviour on multiple occasions coming from a specific area in the crowd during the last frame which in the end forced a player to miss a crucial shot.
“I do realise that the timing wasn’t great, but I felt that I had to say something.
“It took too long and it was ott considering the circumstances.
“I do apologise to everyone who didn’t understand what was going on. Lesson learnt.”
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