Play was halted on the Crucible through the World Snooker Championship after a protester carrying a Just Stop Oil t-shirt bumped into the sector, jumped onto the desk and scattered a bag of orange powder throughout the floor.
The incident occurred throughout Robert Milkins’ conflict with Joe Perry within the night session, forcing a delay of round 40 minutes earlier than any play resumed.
“We’ve got a protester who is throwing powder on the table – I’ve never seen the likes of this before,” mentioned the shocked commentator on Eurosport as occasions unfolded.
“He’s being roundly booed by the audience but play is going to have to be suspended while they deal with the mess on the table.
“I don’t know what he’s protesting and frankly I don’t care – thankfully no-one was hurt and they’re going to have to try and remove that complete mess.”
Angry shouts may very well be heard from the gang in attendance, together with scattered applause when the protester was eliminated.
A separate wide-angle digital camera shot appeared to indicate a second protester being stopped earlier than reaching one other desk, the place Mark Allen and Fan Zhengyi had been enjoying, apparently trying to affix themselves to it.
Eurosport later reported that the matter was being handled by the police, with all 4 gamers concerned within the two matches having returned to the dressing rooms.
“History created at the Crucible, though not the sort of history we would like. But, hopefully, it looks like no one is hurt,” presenter Rishi Persad mentioned.
“Protesters causing trouble at the World Championship is not something we predicted, but these things are happening with increasing regularity. The players are all leaving the arena.”
Former world champion Stephen Hendry, on commentary duties for the BBC, mentioned: “I have never seen that before at a snooker event. It’s a first.
“It is scary. Wow! You just hope the cloth can be recovered from that. It caught us all by surprise and then this happens.
“For me, straight away as a snooker player I am thinking: ‘Is the table recoverable?’ We don’t know what that is on the table.”
Just Stop Oil issued an announcement which learn: “At around 7:20pm, two Just Stop Oil supporters have disrupted the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, interrupting play.
“The pair proceeded to cover the tables in orange powder paint before being removed by security and arrested. They are demanding that the Government immediately stop all new UK fossil fuel projects and are calling on UK sporting institutions to step into civil resistance against the Government’s genocidal policies.”
World Snooker Tour officers confirmed that the match between Allen and Zhengyi was set to renew after a delay of roughly 45 minutes.
The affected desk within the Milkins-Perry encounter was coated and can be re-clothed in a single day, with a call to be made in a while whether or not the match between them will resume following the conclusion of Allen-Zhengyi.
Over the weekend, the Grand National was the topic of protests from animal rights teams and one horse died following the delay to proceedings.
Additional reporting by PA
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