World Snooker Championship 2023: Funny moment as referee drops ball during Neil Robertson v Wu Yize match

Snooker referees often make their job look easy but even the best of them can make the odd fumble, which is what happened to Rob Spencer in a funny moment at the World Championship.

Robertson potted a routine blue to the left middle and referee Spencer dropped it after picking the ball out of the pocket, stopping it just in time as the blue rolled across the table.

Everyone saw the funny side of it with Robertson going “oooo” and the crowd enjoying the moment too.

It just goes to show how good the World Snooker Tour referees are because it’s very rare they don’t do something smoothly.

“Hello! Steady Rob!” exclaimed Eurosport commentator David Hendon. “No harm done. The pressure gets to everyone at the Crucible – all is well.”

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Earlier in the frame, a phone went off just before Robertson was about to take on a long red and there was also movement in the crowd which led to Spencer telling the spectators in the front row to keep still.

Nevertheless, Robertson overcame the distractions to take a 6-3 lead, having seen his opponent Wu make back-to-back 107s as the Chinese player fought back to 4-3.

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