Ronnie O’Sullivan claims referee was 'looking for trouble' during extraordinary row at World Championship

Ronnie O’Sullivan claimed referee Olivier Marteel was “looking for trouble” after an extraordinary exchange during the World Championship final. Marteel halted proceedings in the final frame of Sunday’s first session after taking offence at something O’Sullivan did – but would not reveal what it was. Ad/> O’Sullivan hit back, telling him to go and check the cameras, while Judd Trump was also left fuming as the delay ran the risk of impacting his next shot.

World ChampionshipO’Sullivan snatches frame with astonishing ‘cocked hat double’ on final black2 HOURS AGO The six-time world champion walked off without shaking Marteel’s hand after Trump held his nerve to reduce his lead to 5-3 at the end of the first session. When asked by Eurosport’s Rachel Casey about the incident, O’Sullivan said: “I think he just seems to be looking for trouble. I just get a vibe from the guy.

“They’ve got hundreds of cameras out there, they can go and check them all, slow motion them down. “He’s trying to say… I’ll let the ref talk to you but I’m not going to have any of it because I think he’s just trying to create something. He needs to deal with that, not me.” WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN O'SULLIVAN AND MARTEEL? O’Sullivan was steamrolling his way towards the eighth frame when he accidentally pinned himself behind the blue when playing up the table for the yellow.

He then attempted to play safe off the yellow but missed the ball completely as the white darted around the table and into the black for a seven-point foul. Trump was ready to swoop in but before the 2019 champion could play a shot, Marteel made a beeline for O’Sullivan in his chair. Here’s how an extraordinary conversation unfolded: *voices initially inaudible* O’Sullivan: “What did you