World Snooker Championship: Meet snooker referee and nurse Olivier Marteel who halted Crucible protester

Olivier Marteel may be recognisable as the stoic referee often seen officiating big matches at the World Snooker Championship, but there is a lot more to him than just that. The Belgian, who was born in Nieuwpoort, began refereeing on the main professional tour in 2006 and has not looked back since as he has taken charge of many of the sport's most memorable moments on the biggest stages. Ad Indeed, Marteel was labelled a hero by many snooker fans as he stepped in to prevent a protester from clambering up onto the table amid chaotic scenes at the Crucible on Monday.

It was a courageous act given no one knew if weapons were involved, and he was lauded for his intervention as play was able to resume on that table due to it not being covered with orange powder — as the one opposite had been. World ChampionshipTrump says he 'deserved to lose' against McGillAN HOUR AGO Speaking to Eurosport prior to the tournament, Marteel spoke about the journey he went on to become a referee, how he fell in love with the sport, and how he managed to juggle his love for snooker with being a part-time nurse. «I'm 53 and I've been nursing since my 21st birthday, so that's 30 odd years,» Marteel told Eurosport's The Power of Sport show.

«I started ref-ing professionally in 2005. I've been nursing since my 21st birthday, which is a long time ago, 30-odd years ago. I've been a professional snooker referee since 2005.

»The nursing was something I knew [I wanted to do] from when I was a boy. I was six, seven years old, and I already told my mum I remembered that in the bathroom in our first house years and years ago I wanted to be a doctor. Where that came from, I don't know.