'I find it difficult' - Judd Trump agrees with Ronnie O'Sullivan on referees at World Snooker Championship

Updated 21/04/2022 at 21:41 GMT

Former world No. 1 Judd Trump has said that he agrees with Ronnie O'Sullivan that the speed of the referees around the table makes it pretty much impossible for the Rocket's record for the fastest-ever 147 at the World Championship in 1997 to be beaten. Trump admitted that he finds it difficult how the referees dictate the pace of the game nowadays compared to how the dynamic used to be.

'Refs don't move quick enough' - Trump backs up O'Sullivan on slow referees

Judd Trump has given his views on the speed of referees in snooker compared to 1997 when Ronnie O'Sullivan was able to set the record for the fastest 147 at the Crucible.

Speaking after his 10-4 World Championship first-round victory over Hossein Vafaei on Thursday evening, Trump shared his thoughts after O'Sullivan had raised the issue while looking back over his remarkable and historic maximum 25 years ago.

The Rocket said of the record break: "It probably couldn't be done today because the refs do a bit too much walking maybe.

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"What a referee [Len Ganley] - the referees today could learn a thing or two. He just stayed in the same position. It's like a good footballer, he doesn't move around too much. He knows what he is doing and gets the job done.

"That [the speed, 8.5 seconds-a-shot] was ridiculous, really. If I am on 16 seconds-a-shot now I am thinking that is as quick as I would want to be. I don't want to be any quicker than that."

Asked if he thought beating O'Sullivan's record for the fastest 147 was possible, Trump did not believe it was due to the sluggish speed of the referees around the table.

"To be honest, I don't think the refs move quick enough now, honestly," Trump said in the Eurosport studio.

'It was mental!' - O'Sullivan talks through his record-breaking 147 at Crucible in 1997

"I don't think they do. Back in the day, the player had the upper hand. They could kind of barge them, like 'you go and pick that ball up' but now they just take their time.

"I do honestly think that a lot of games now, you are playing to the speed of the referee. You are not playing to the speed of yourself. So I find it difficult, and you see it with Ronnie a lot of the time.

"He has just got to the point where he has to accept it. He would like to play a lot quicker, and back in the day, he could do that.

"Nowadays, the refs just sort of like to take their time to spot the ball and everything like that and get out of the way."

Trump set up a meeting with a semi-finalist at the Crucible in 2020, Anthony McGill, in the second round in Sheffield after seeing off the challenge of World Championship debutant Vafaei.