World Snooker Championship referee Marcel Eckardt apologises as footage of Bingham being ‘forced to miss shot’ emerges
REFEREE Marcel Edkardt has apologised after confronting a fan after Stuart Bingham was “forced to miss a shot”.
The incident happened as Bingham took a vital shot in his clash against Jak Jones in the World Snooker Championship semi-final.
Bingham was on the cusp of exiting the competition at the Crucible as he lined up an important shot.
While trailing 16 frames to 12, the Basildon cueman needed to pot the brown in order to keep his hopes of reaching the final alive.
But as he took his shot a cough could be heard from the crowd which led to him missing.
Eckardt then approached the crowd and could be heard asking if a person was “okay”.
However, he was speaking to the one person and wanted to find out who the cougher was.
He could then be heard apologising to the person if it was not them and urged there to be quiet in the audience during play.
Play quickly resumed as Jones took advantage of the miss and booked his spot in the final alongside Kyren Wilson.
After the match, Eckardt took to social media to address the incident and apologised to those who did not realised what had happened.
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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.”
Despite apologising, Eckardt received plenty of support from snooker fans on social media.
One posted: “You shouldn’t have to clear things up or explain yourself Marcel, you were just doing your job and you did it brilliantly!”
A second commented: “Fair play to Marcel for trying his best to sort it. He’s got enough to think about without people in the crowd making a scene.”
A third wrote: “No need to apologise. If somone is deliberately coughing, they must be confronted, regardless of the situation.”
A fourth said: “You shouldn’t have to police the crowd.”
Another added: “Should never have to apologise, Marcel you are a great ref! Handled it very well tonight.”
Bingham reached the semi-final by knocking out Ronnie O’Sullivan and has always been a popular figure in the sport.
Jones will now face Wilson in the final which will take place on Monday.
