Referee Marcel Eckardt has issued an apology for approaching an audience member during Jak Jones’ victory against Stuart Bingham in the semi-final of the World Snooker Championship. In the 29th frame of the match, Jones prevailed 17–12 to set up a final matchup with Kyren Wilson after Eckardt got into an altercation with a supporter.Bingham returned to his chair, pointing to the audience after missing a shot on the brown toward the bottom left pocket. Before the picture was taken, Eckardt was seen looking to his right. He then walked up to a spectator and said, “One more sound and I will ask you to leave.”
Jones was forced to wait for his turn at the table to finish his winning break because Eckardt and the fan’s talk continued for a while. Neal Foulds, a pundit for Eurosport, expressed displeasure with Eckardt taking center stage, saying, “I don’t know why Marcel is getting engaged in this. Please, can we just finish the game now?”
Following the break, the frame went on, and Jones recorded a break of 58 to secure his spot in the Crucible final. Following the game, the interaction between Eckardt and the spectators generated a lot of discussion, and the referee later apologized on social media.
“To clear things up: I witnessed misbehavior coming from a specific area in the crowd during the last frame which ultimately forced a player to miss a crucial shot,” the player posted on X, the previous Twitter platform.
“I understand that the time wasn’t ideal, but I felt compelled to speak up. Given the circumstances, it was too lengthy and excessive. I sincerely apologize to anyone who was unaware of what was happening. A lesson was discovered.”
Before falling to Jones in the quarterfinals, Bingham achieved a historic victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan. However, he refused to attribute his failed shot on the brown to the rowdy spectator.
In the post-match interview, he stated: “I think I gave up eight frames.” I think I immediately missed eight or nine blacks. After playing as I did against Ronnie, I’m really let down. It was just not enjoyable for me outside.
“Too many errors. The match was essentially summed up by missing a blue in the fourth frame. He made too many easy starts and missed too many easy balls. Merely a humiliating act on my part.
