SNOOKER star Ding Junhui crashed out the Saudi Arabia Masters after a controversial foul was called in the deciding frame.
The Chinese player faced Stuart Bingham for a place in the last-16 yesterday.
With the score level at 4-4, the match was going to be decided by a crucial final frame.
Ding had a 32-0 lead – but a never-before-seen incident occurred that led to him losing.
As the former world No1 tried to pot the black, the tip of his cue flew off and hit a red ball.
Eagle-eyed referee Olivier Marteel spotted the infringement and called a foul to the surprise of Ding.
He was then advised to “go to the office” to fix his cue.
Meanwhile, the official explained to Bingham: “The tip hit another ball after hitting this ball. It hit a red. It just jumped on the bed of the table and then on to a red, so it’s a foul.”
Ding eventually returned and again quizzed the ref, who replied: “Yes, I’m sure that your tip hit the red. Junhui, I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.”
The incident handed Bingham a chance to secure the win, which he did so brilliantly with a break of 63.
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Speaking about the match on Instagram, the ex-world champ said: “An unbelievable victory, 5-4 over Ding.
“Not sure if everyone watched, but something happened that’s never happened to me before and I don’t know if it’s ever happened to anyone else before.
“He’s on a break of 32, he went into the pack off the black but unfortunately his tip came off and as it came off onto the table, it hit a red ball which meant it was a foul.
“Obviously he had to go to the office to get his tip back on, the referee Olivier Marteel did say to him it was a foul.
“Luckily for me, I held my nerve and dished up in the decider to win 5-4. I thought I’d just let everyone know what happened. Ballrun Bingham strikes again.”
The official rule states: “Section 3: contacting, with any part of the player’s person, attire and equipment, a ball in play, or any device used to mark a ball in play.”
But fuming fans believe the win was an injustice, with one saying: “No way would I call that a foul because in what world does he have any control of that.”
Another called for a rule tweak, adding: “Needs changing immediately. Should never be a foul in my opinion.”
THE aim of snooker is to clear the table of all balls - and achieving it in an incredible 147 break is the ultimate goal.
The rectangular table features green baize, a baulk line and semi-circle, known as the D.
It has six pockets, four in each corner and two midway down both long sides.
There are 15 red balls which are arranged in a triangular shape.
There are also six colour balls, and the white cue ball.
Each colour sits on its own designated spot at the start of the game.
While red balls are worth one point when potted, the colours all have a different value.
In ascending order these are:
The first player will cue off and must hit at least one of the red balls in the triangle.
If they pot a red, they can then continue by potting a colour.
However, if no red is potted then their opponent will play the next shot – going for a red first.
Each player must first pot a red ball when it’s their turn to play. If nothing is pocketed it is the other player’s turn at the table.
After each red is potted they must then follow with a colour, then a red, then a colour, and so on.
Whilst there are still red balls on the table, the potted colour balls are returned to their designated spot.
Once all the red balls are pocketed, the player at the table must pot the colours in the order as outlined above.
If they miss then their opponent will have the opportunity to clear the table.
A 147 is a maximum break when all reds are potted by one player in one stint at the table.
In order to achieve 147, the player must pot all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points.
They must then clear all the colours, concluding with the black for 27 points.
During play the rules state that the cue must only touch the white cue ball.
The cue ball also must hit the correct colour ball – reds or colours in order.
If it hits the incorrect colour then a foul is called.
If the cue ball fails to hit any ball or is pocketed it is also a foul.
The player’s turn at the table ends if they play a foul shot.
Players are also penalised if they touch any ball on the table with their person.
