Ronnie O’Sullivan shows ‘unbelievable’ sportsmanship in incident at Crucible

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Ronnie O'Sullivan exhibited exceptional levels of sportsmanship during a certain moment in his defeat against Stuart Bingham in the quarter-final of the World Snooker Championship.

During the best-of-25 competition, O'Sullivan was in the lead with a score of 6-5. In the 12th frame, he was behind with a point difference of 14 when a strange incident took place after he successfully sunk the black ball.

The referee, Desislava Bozhilova, tried to replace the black ball to its original position. This was a tricky task because the white ball was very near and the black ball was moving away from its spot.

Bozhilova believed that the black ball was correctly placed, but O'Sullivan was not fully convinced. He also seemed unhappy to take advantage of the potential to pot the next red ball in the left corner pocket due to the black's positioning.

Although Bingham seemed not to care, O'Sullivan decided not to put the red ball in the hole and chose to make a careful shot instead. O'Sullivan eventually lost that round, and Neil Robertson, who is also a world champion, praised how remarkable it all was.

Robertson, who was providing analysis for BBC Sport, expressed astonishment that the player chose to play it safe instead of attempting to pot the red.

This is possibly one of the most exceptional examples of fair play I have witnessed in any kind of athletic activity. It's truly remarkable. "I've never observed something like that previously."

But, O'Sullivan presented a divergent perspective on the matter when speaking with Eurosport. He expressed, "Honestly, some of the referees seem to have a personal vendetta against me, so I aimed to demonstrate to her that she made an erroneous decision."

After making the shot, I didn't feel good about it, but I was determined to prove my point. And I did. However, I'm not overly eager to win in that manner. Now that I've stood by my principles, I can rest peacefully at night.

At age 31, Bozhilova has been working as a referee in professional tournaments for over a decade. She was chosen to officiate in both the Masters and UK Championship finals in 2022.

WST denied O'Sullivan's claims and emphasized that Bozhilova acted properly during the event.

The second part of the game ended with both players having won eight frames each. However, Bingham surprised everyone by winning with a score of 13-10, securing his place in the top four.