Ronnie O’Sullivan OUT of World Snooker Championship in nailbiter vs Stuart Bingham after ‘sportingly’ gifting him frame from alan maia belly punch Watch Video

⏲ Duration: 1:28
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✓ Published: 02-May-2024

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RONNIE O’SULLIVAN was booted out of the World Snooker Championship by Stuart Bingham – but then revealed he considered not competing in the tournament.<br/><br/>And the Rocket reckons some referees “have got it in for me” as his quest for Crucible No.8 rolls over until next year.<br/><br/>Bingham, the 2015 world champion, progressed to the semi-finals following a stunning 13-10 victory and celebrated with a glass of red wine.<br/><br/>Yet seven-time world champion O’Sullivan, 48, said he only attended after being persuaded to do so by a new sponsor.<br/><br/>O’Sullivan, who PUNCHED the table in anger after one poor shot, said: “I wasn’t going to play the Tour Championship in Manchester or this because of how I was feeling about playing.<br/><br/>“They sort of twisted my arm. It’s first come, first served. I have signed up for 8-9 events next year.<br/><br/>“There are only so many days I allow myself to be away from home. You cannot do it all.<br/><br/>“I would have done (punditry) days with Eurosport here. They’ve been pretty good with me. I wanted to fulfill that.<br/><br/>“There are so many things to do in my life, man. I have such a busy, good life.<br/><br/>“Probably done painting with Damien Hirst, ate good food, taken the dogs out, seen my children, gone to Champney’s Spa.<br/><br/>“It might sound boring to you but it’s bloody exciting to me.”<br/><br/>O’Sullivan was praised in frame 12 by former world champion Neil Robertson for “the greatest bit of sportsmanship I’ve ever seen” after he turned down a chance to pot a red.<br/><br/>Trailing by 14 points, it appeared he was unsure whether the black -which referee Desislava Bozhilova has just respotted - was lying correcting on its spot, thus making the red pottable.<br/><br/>Rather than pot the red, O'Sullivan opted to instead play a safety shot after more than four-and-a-half minutes of deliberation – as the black ball was respotted about 10 times.<br/><br/>Australian cueist Robbo, working for the BBC praised O’Sullivan for telling ref Bozhilova she had not placed the black back accurately and was giving him an unfair advantage.<br/><br/>O'Sullivan went on to lose the frame.<br/><br/>But O’Sullivan admitted: “To be honest with you, some of the referees I think they’ve got it in for me.<br/><br/>“So I just wanted to prove to her that she’d got it wrong.<br/><br/>“I didn’t feel good about having to pot the ball after that. But I just wanted to make a point.<br/><br/>“I’m not that hungry to win in that way. I’m more of a principled person, so once the principle’s been made I can sleep at night.”<br/><br/>The World Snooker Tour refutes those allegations and insists the referee acted correctly and appropriately.<br/><br/>Bingham, who hit a 104 in the penultimate frame, cried backstage as he edged closer to a second world title – and now faces qualifier Jak Jones over four sessions across three days.