Masters crowd laugh at 'rare' error from referee Jan Verhaas during John Higgins' match against Zhao Xintong

ByEurosport

Updated 10/01/2022 at 16:49 GMT

“A rare mini mistake from Jan,” said Alan McManus on Eurosport’s commentary after referee Jan Verhaas placed the green back on the yellow spot. The error was noticed by someone in the crowd at Alexandra Palace, with John Higgins ready to take his next shot before Verhaas corrected his error was a “sorry, I beg your pardon!”.

The Masters crowd at Alexandra Palace enjoyed a light-hearted moment during John Higgins’ Masters match with Zhao Xintong when referee Jan Verhaas put the green back on the wrong spot.

Higgins was ready to take his next shot after Verhaas placed the green back on the yellow spot.

But an eagle-eyed member of the crowd spotted the misplaced green, calling out “the green’s on the wrong spot” before Verhaas realised his mistake.

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The referee quickly amended his error with a “sorry, I beg your pardon!” to laughs from the crowd watching on.

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Alan McManus said on Eurosport commentary: “A rare mini mistake from Jan, that doesn’t happen very often… No matter.”

However, it did appear to shake Higgins’ concentration, as the Scot lost positioning with his next shot after the cue ball travelled too far down the table.

Higgins recovered to win the frame, and he went on to seal a 6-2 victory which saw him book a quarter-final against fellow two-time winner Mark Williams.

That match will take place on Thursday evening.

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