O'Sullivan edges ahead in world snooker final amid referee row

LONDON: Snooker great Ronnie O'Sullivan took a 5-3 over lead over Judd Trump in the World Championship final on Sunday (May 1) after becoming involved in an angry exchange with referee Olivier Marteel.

O'Sullivan, bidding to equal Stephen Hendry's modern-day record of seven world titles, appeared to be accused by the match official of making an obscene gesture after failing to get out of a snooker in the eighth frame at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.

That led O'Sullivan, 46, to challenge Marteel by asking the Belgian referee and insist that he "saw nothing".

O'Sullivan was adamant he had not been abusive towards Marteel, telling Eurosport in an interview after the end of the first session: "I just think he (Marteel) seems to be looking for trouble. I just get that vibe from the guy.

"They've got hundreds of cameras out there and they can go and check them all. I'm not going to have any of it because I think he's just trying to create something. He needs to deal with it, not me."

O'Sullivan is already facing an investigation by snooker authorities for allegedly making a lewd gesture after missing a black in the 13th frame of his 10-5 first-round win over Dave Gilbert.

O'Sullivan had earlier complained to Marteel, who is officiating in his first world final, about a security guard who was moving in his line of sight during the third frame.

The next frame saw the pair involved in a lengthy argument over the placing of the cue ball following a miss.

At the end of the first session in this best of 35-frame contest, O'Sullivan shared a fist bump with Trump but did not offer a similar courtesy to Marteel as is customary.

Trump, the 2019 world champion, made an impressive start in an all-English final by taking the first frame with a