Steve Davis was left fuming by Mark Allen's final afternoon session frame with Wu Yize at the World Championships on Friday, urging the referees' association to step in. The snooker legend branded the 100 minute and 21 second frame an 'embarrassment' to the sport and called for intervention from the referees' and players' associations to guarantee it never happens again.
The pair became embroiled in a historically lengthy 14th frame at the Crucible on Friday evening, with both players adopting a cautious approach as all the reds remained clustered around the black near the far pocket. Allen, who held a 43-13 lead at the time, was intent on kissing the reds with the cue ball and sending it rolling down to the opposite end of the table. Yize, meanwhile, was content to gently nudge it back towards the pack to ensure contact was made without disturbing or dislodging the black. The audience grew justifiably restless as the frame dragged on, resorting to sarcastic applause and cheering after every shot as BBC coverage displayed a graphic revealing that no ball had been potted for approximately 40 minutes.
At one point, a member of the crowd was heard shouting: 'Can we have a rerack?' before referee Marcel Eckhardt fired back: 'Thanks for the advice but we can do it without you.' The official was also forced to appeal to spectators to calm their slow clapping and heckling on several occasions as tempers flared inside the Crucible Theatre.
Eckhardt eventually seized control of the match following guidance from a superior, informing both Allen and Yize they had merely three shots to alter the play or face a re-rack. It was a decision which was contested by Allen given he possessed the upper hand. The Northern Irishman ultimately cannoned the reds into the black, sinking the ball in a foul to hand Yize a significant advantage - before the Chinese star eventually secured the frame 88-62 to draw level and conclude a protracted and difficult to watch session.
Underwhelmed by the spectacle, Davis offered his verdict live from the BBC Sport studio afterwards. He said: 'In a nutshell, that frame's an embarrassment to snooker, and the referees' and the players' association need to try and work out a way that never happens again.' Kyren Wilson also added: 'Marcel should have called that a lot earlier. That frame was going nowhere. Quite painful.'
Meanwhile, snooker supporters were swift to share their opinions on social media, likewise suggesting that Eckhardt ought to have assumed greater control over the match. One posted: 'The referee was out of his depth having a decision made for him,' while a second commented: 'Ref had a shocker!!' Another viewer fumed: 'Worse frame of snooker I've ever seen. Ref completely bottled it in the face of Allen's reluctance to accept his decision.'
Following Yize's frame victory, the pair head back to the table on Saturday all square at 7-7. In the other semi-final, meanwhile, Shaun Murphy goes head-to-head with John Higgins for a place in the final, resuming their match level at 8-8 in Friday's closing session of the day.
