Ronnie O’Sullivan was hailed for ‘greatest bit of sportsmanship ever’ after bizarre World Snooker Championship incident

Ronnie O’Sullivan showed great sportsmanship when playing a safety shot instead of potting the red at last year’s World Snooker Championship.

In their best of 25 quarter-final matchup O’Sullivan was leading Stuart Bingham 6-5, and was down 14 points in the 12th frame.

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After potting the black, referee Desislava Bozhilova tried the difficult task of re-spotting it as it was originally in very close proximity to the white.

O’Sullivan wasn’t convinced by the accuracy of the the ball being on the spot and didn’t feel comfortable at the prospect of being able to pot the red with ease.

Although Bingham seemed indifferent about the situation, O’Sullivan refused to pot the red and instead chose a safety shot which led to the seven-time champion losing the frame.

Neil Robertson, the 2010 World Champion praised O’Sullivan for his sportsmanship.

While analysing the match for BBC, he said: “He played safe even though he could pot the red. It’s unbelievable

“This is probably one of the greatest bits of sportsmanship I have ever seen in any sport. That’s incredible. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

When asked about the incident O’Sullivan unexpectedly told Eurosport: “To be honest with you, some of the refs, I think they’ve got it in for me, so I just wanted to prove to her that she got it wrong.

“I didn’t feel good about potting the ball after that, but I just wanted to make the point. The point was made. I’m not that hungry to win it in that way, so once the principle’s been made I can sleep at night.”

The World Snooker Tour publicly disagreed with the 49-year-old and maintained the opinion that  Bozhilova acted correctly throughout the incident.  

The match’s second session concluded at eight frames each before Bingham went on to win 13-10 and progress to the semi-finals.

Snooker fans are waiting eagerly for the return of O’Sullivan who has withdrawn from many events this year.

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Due to medical reasons he has not played since January’s Championship League and did not qualify for the Players Championship or Tour Championship.

The good news is O’Sullivan is scheduled to return before the World Championship starts Saturday 19 April. 

The season-ending event takes place in Sheffield and will end Monday May 5.

An appearance from the seven-time winner would be a record-extending 33rd in a row.

Fans will have the opportunity to see O’Sullivan in action from April 8-10 at his new snooker academy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he will host a Q&A. 

The poster for the event tells fans they can see O’Sullivan ‘during his preparation for the World Snooker Tour’.