Ronnie O’Sullivan applauded for calling foul on himself, referee thanks him in UK Championship match

Updated 29/11/2021 at 17:08 GMT

Seven-time UK Championship winner Ronnie O’Sullivan made an honest call when taking on Mark King in the eighth frame of their third-round match. Referee Leo Scullion thanked O’Sullivan, who was then applauded by the crowd when admitting he feathered a red. Stream the UK Championship live and on demand on discovery+

O’Sullivan declares foul on himself as referee thanks him in UK Championship match

Ronnie O’Sullivan declared a foul on himself when taking on Mark King in their third-round encounter at the UK Championship.

Leading 4-3 in the match and 16-0 in the frame, O’Sullivan needed the rest when looking to hit the cue ball while it was surrounded by a bunch of reds.

But rather than play a shot, he took both his cue and rest off the table and said to the referee: “I think I touched the red with my cue, you can check with the camera.”

World Championship

World Championship LIVE - O'Sullivan resumes with commanding lead

2 minutes ago

On commentary, Neal Foulds said: “It’s got to be called a foul. If Ronnie’s not sure, how can you see from a camera?”

‘One of the misses of the tour!’ - O’Sullivan gets ‘hustled’ after error leaves White perplexed

Unsure if he feathered the red, O’Sullivan took his seat as referee Leo Scullion consulted Marcel Eckardt, who was monitoring the video footage.

The pair remained unsure, prompting Scullion to ask O’Sullivan if he was happy to declare a foul on himself – to which the seven-time UK Championship winner responded yes.

Foulds added: “That’s exactly it. He’s called a foul on himself, there’s no camera that can see it. It would just be a slight tremor on the cue.”

‘That’s a Trump special! – O’Sullivan shot stuns commentary team

The foul initially offered King a route back into the frame, but O’Sullivan eventually returned to the table and went on to win 91-12 to move within a frame of victory.

O'Sullivan swiftly sealed the match, winning 6-3 to advance to the fourth round, where he will face Noppon Saengkham or Stuart Bingham.

- - -

Stream the UK Championship and much more top snooker action live and on demand on discovery+

World Championship