Rob Spencer has almost done it all as a snooker referee. He has taken charge of a UK Championship final, overseen a dozen 147 breaks—the most of any official on the tour—and even shooed a pigeon out of the Crucible. This year, he will break new ground after being selected to take charge of the World Championship final. It is the highest possible honour for a referee and one that the Stockport official is still taking in.
A Dream Realised
"It has not really sunk in yet and it probably will not until I walk out," says Spencer, a World Snooker Tour referee since 2013. "It is something I have worked towards for a very long time. When you are a referee, the ultimate goal is to referee a world final. I am no different. When you start refereeing in that working men's club, you do not think, 'Right, I am going to referee the world final.' But you set yourself little milestones as you go along. To have finally achieved it is amazing."
Spencer grew up playing snooker in clubs in Greater Manchester, regularly rubbing shoulders with professionals. He was a handy player himself with a highest break of 139. But by his own admission, he was not quite good enough to make it as a professional.
"I have made 100 breaks and represented Manchester," adds Spencer. "I was half-decent, I could hold my own. I aspired to be a professional and I played against a lot of pros. I gradually fell in love with the game by doing that. In boxing terms, I would be like a sparring partner. I could give them a good game but was not quite good enough to do it for a living."
From Player to Official
Refereeing was the next best thing. After being asked to take charge of 'money matches' on an informal basis, he became fascinated with that side of the game. "I was a non-playing captain at county level and I was always questioning the referees," he says. "Not in a nasty way, in a quizical way. One of the local examiners suggested I do my exam, which I passed. Because I had played, I was comfortable in the environment. I refereed the quarter-final of a competition and there were a number of ex-pros taking part who I had played when I was younger. A few of them said, 'You are not bad at this, you want to stick at it.' I did and then I was out refereeing at various events before I went to Q-School, where I was assessed by people like Jan Verhaas and Paul Collier, gods of refereeing. I got asked to referee for World Snooker and then moved up through the pyramid."
The Crucible Challenge
That rise took him all the way to the Crucible, the most storied venue of the lot but also one of the most tricky to officiate at, given the closeness of the two-table set-up. Spencer says there is a knack to refereeing at the iconic theatre. "It is tight and everything you learnt about where to stand… It does not go out the window but there is a skill to refereeing at the Crucible. You have to try and read quite far ahead in the game. You do not just think about the ball they are going for; you might have to think about the next ball after that because you do not want to get trapped on the wrong side of the table. When they are potting a red, you have to think, 'What he is playing for here?' Because I need to be in position before the player gets there. If you have got someone like Neil Robertson, who stands quite far back, you do not want to get caught in the corner and end up on the wrong side, which means you are in their line of sight. That is the nature of refereeing at the Crucible. It is unique, a one-off."
Anonymity is Key
While delighted to have been awarded the final, Spencer will be quite happy if his presence is soon forgotten. As in football, the best referees are the ones you do not notice. "If a week after the final someone goes, 'Who refereed that match?' and they cannot remember, that is me happy," he says. "That means I have done a good job. I am not in it for people knowing who I am. The more anonymous I am the better. You just want to be there and help to provide a good match for the players and that they trust you."
Unforgettable Moments
There are times, through no fault of his own, when Spencer has been the centre of attention. Take 'pigeon-gate' at the 2022 World Championship. "It was Mark Selby against Yan Bingtao," recalls Spencer, an ex-policeman and civil servant. "Mark had gone to the toilet. I was setting the balls up and had gone back to the top of the table. I looked up and a pigeon had landed on the table. I ushered it a bit and it flew away towards the commentary box. As Mark comes back from the toilet, this pigeon nearly takes his head off before it flies straight into the commentary box window and stuns itself. It was all right. Then one of the table fitters managed to put it outside the building. Mark has got a great sense of humour. He walked back to the table and I said, 'It is all right Mark, I think he has featured the cue ball.' He was gutted because I had got the line in before him!"
Another comical moment occurred during a Selby match against Barry Hawkins in the Championship League. "Barry wanted the extending spider," explains Spencer. "And when I extended it and went to pass it to him, it snapped in half and fell on the table. All three of us started laughing. It was one of those situations where it was not particularly funny but you all start laughing anyway and you cannot stop. We were all giggling like little children. It went on for a couple of minutes. It was embarrassing but beyond my control. That is why I always say to new refs, 'You never know what is going to happen.'"
A Labour of Love
"It is better than working for a living. If you love the sport, there is nothing better. You are refereeing the best in the world at that sport, which is amazing really. I love it."
