‘Calm down’ – Referee forced to intervene in angry row between former snooker world champion and Ronnie O’Sullivan rival

A SNOOKER referee had to step in after a heated confrontation between Stuart Bingham and Iranian star Hossein Vafaei. Bingham, a former world champion, came up against the 31-year-old in the round of 16 at the China Open. The referee was forced to step in after a fuming Stuart Bingham confronted his opponent Credit: TNT He accused Hossein Vafaei of deliberately fouling his shot Credit: TNT But controversy bloomed over a shot made by Vafaei – as he tried to claw back from a four-frame deficit – which Bingham labelled “ridiculous”. Bingham, 50, had a 60-8 lead in the fifth frame when he thought he had caught Vafaei out, tucking the cue ball behind the yellow and leaving a shot on only one of the five reds on the table. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! The one that Vafaei did have an angle on was only an edge – an edge that was hanging precariously over the middle pocket and would most likely send the cue ball in-off if he went for it. But with his only other choice being a difficult escape, Vafaei took aim anyway and, as expected, pocketed the cue ball. The remaining red rolled up to the rest of the pack, leaving the World No21 with very little on with the ball in hand in baulk. Bingham remained seated with an incredulous look until asked what was wrong by the referee. He responded: “I believe he’s played that on purpose. ”He had no shot. All he could see was that red, and he couldn’t help but go in-off. Most read in Sport CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Bingham labelled the situation “ridiculous” before the pair were told to calm down by the referee Credit: TNT “There’s no other outcome, He’s always going to go in-off. So he’s got the red safe, but he’s gone in-off, so I’ve got white in hand – what?” Vafaei had stayed quiet up to that point, but when told he made the shot deliberately he responded: ”I couldn’t see anywhere else. I tried to come back from the cushion.” Bingham dismissed the claim, prompting Vafaei to ask what he meant, to which he replied: “You know what I mean, it’s ridiculous. Ridiculous.” The referee then had to intervene to tell off both stars, telling them: ”Calm down, please.” Play Dream Team this season! £100,000 in prize money up for grabs in 2026/27 Free to enter Play in Mini Leagues against your mates £60,000 jackpot for the overall winner £1,000 prize for winning Gameweek 1 PLAY DREAM TEAM NOW! Vafaei has previously clashed with Ronnie O’Sullivan Credit: PA The incident prompted debate among snooker fans, with some claiming that it was just clever gamesmanship from the world No27. But others had less sympathy for Vafaei, especially after his long-time feud with seven-time world champ Ronnie O’Sullivan. The pair have had a number of spats at the table, including both of them “disrespectfully” smashing the pack on the break-off in battles two years apart. Perhaps The Rocket would not have been too upset seeing Bingham recover to thrash Vafaei 6-0 and book his quarter-final spot against Anda Zhang. Comment now