‘He needs to go’ – Referee stopped Ronnie O’Sullivan to call security and throw out spectator

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s found himself interrupted when a sleeping fan had to be removed at the 2017 World Snooker Championship.

Leading Gary Wilson 5-4 in his first-round match at the Crucible, the Rocket was about to step up to the table when he and referee Brendan Moore turned in surprise after hearing a noise in the crowd.

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Ronnie O’Sullivan is a seven-time champion at the Crucible[/caption]

The culprit was quickly identified as a spectator who appeared to have fallen asleep, with the match official wasting no time in giving him his marching orders.

Moore could be heard pausing proceedings as he called for security to eject the man from the venue.

Gesturing at the crowd, the referee ordered: “Excuse me, hang on a second Ronnie, come down. I need this guy out, he needs to go.”

He then hurried the security guard over to the fan, pointing at him, before saying: “Martin, out. This one here. Yeah, he needs to go.

“Straight out.”

While the exact reason for the spectator’s brief disturbance was unclear, commentator John Virgo suggested the member of the crowd had fallen ill, who looked to be dozing off.

He said: “There’s a slight problem with someone in the audience. Looks as though he’s not too well.”

Meanwhile, Moore continued to insist on the fan being ejected, as he carried on: “Yeah, you need to go please sir.

“Just take him out, gone, yeah.”

This was certainly a match worth staying awake for, with O’Sullivan producing an impressive performance to fight past competition debutant Wilson.

Credit: YouTube: @funnypotato2398

O’Sullivan and referee Brendan Moore were stopped in their tracks after hearing a disturbance in the crowd[/caption]

Credit: YouTube: @funnypotato2398

Moore identified the culprit as a fan who had appeared to have fallen asleep[/caption]

Credit: YouTube: @funnypotato2398

The official immediately called for security to eject the spectator[/caption]

Then a five-time world champion, the snooker icon had gone 5-1 up in the match, including a 122 break, before his former taxi driver opponent fought back.

Wilson won three in a row to bring the score to 5-4, the very moment the spectator in question saw his afternoon cut short.

Resuming 5-4 behind, Wilson looked set to level the match, but broke down on 50 when among the balls.

This allowed O’Sullivan back into the frame, who came back from 54 points behind to take a 6-4 lead.

The players then traded century breaks before the Rocket powered to a 9-5 lead.

Wilson managed to trim the deficit with another ton but O’Sullivan finished clinically with a 90 break to win the match 10-7.

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The 2017 Crucible encounter was just O’Sullivan and Wilson’s second match against each other[/caption]

Despite an eventful opening round victory however, the sporting great did not enjoy his usual level of success in the rest of the tournament.

After triumphing over Shaun Murphy with a 13-7 win in the next round, O’Sullivan was then dumped out at the quarter-final stage in Sheffield.

He suffered a 13-10 defeat to China’s Ding Junhui in the last eight as he was unable to claim a sixth World Championship title.

It wasn’t until 2020 when O’Sullivan ended his seven-year trophy drought at the Crucible as he defeated Kyren Wilson in the final.

He wrote his name into the history books two years later when he landed a seventh Crucible crown, equalling the record held by Stephen Hendry.

And the 49-year-old will be hoping to move clear in the all-time standings with another victory at this year’s World Championship.

Despite pulling out of other other major snooker events this year due to ill health, O’Sullivan has hinted he is on course to feature at the snooker showpiece.

The season-ending event kicks off in Sheffield on Saturday April 19, with the final taking place on Monday May 5.