Snooker referee begs for Crucible crowd to be silent as World Championship chaos has commentator gulping

A leading snooker referee pleaded with supporters inside the Crucible to be silent as he was handed a nightmare job during a bonkers frame in a tense World Championship semi final.

Leading ref Marcel Eckardt was put in an almost impossible position as he was forced to put multiple balls back into position in the tense clash between Stuart Bingham and tournament breakout start Jak Jones. The Welshman crashed into multiple wrong balls but Bingham wanted Jones to try his luck again. That forced Eckhardt into multiple fixes as he was forced into asking the Crucible crowd to let him get on with it in silence.

Eckhardt – guided by the match official – was able to do the near impossible with minimum fuss, however, the sweat soon returned to his brow as Bingham left the black lingering over the jaws of the pocket looked to have set up the need for a re-rack. But extra work was avoided with both stars facing strife over a dramatic 27th frame. A commentator on the international – when coming to terms with Eckardt's dilemma blurted out: "Oh goodness me, this replacement might take a week. Oh dear."

Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.

You can also follow our dedicated Rangers and Celtic podcast pages and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We've also entered the world of WhatsApp with our Rangers community and Celtic community up and running. Follow NOW to get your club's latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to your phone.