‘It was surreal’: play resumes at world championship after Just Stop Oil protest

Normal play resumed at the world snooker championship at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre on Tuesday morning after a protester clambered on to one of the two tables on Monday and covered it with orange powder paint.

Table one was put out of action after the incident but overnight repairs to the green cloth surface allowed play to restart on Tuesday. The second table remained undamaged despite a female activist attempting to glue herself to it in the Just Stop Oil protest.

Referee Olivier Marteel prevented her and the first-round match between Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen and China’s Fan Zhengyi was completed.

Allen, the 10-5 winner, told Eurosport he had not realised what was going on. “I heard a bang and I thought it was on the other table. I was still focused on the shot, then I turned around and there was someone on the table. It was a bit surreal,” he said.

“I’ve seen it a bit on social media when I was sitting having my cup of tea when we got sent out of the arena. Completely crazy.”

South Yorkshire police said they had arrested a 25-year-old man and 52-year-old woman on suspicion of criminal damage.