Mark Allen has come in for some heavy criticism for a run-in he had with a referee during his World Grand Prix victory over Jack Lisowski last night.
The Northern Irishman would emerge as a 5-4 winner after what was controversial match, with the way he interacted official Proletina Velichkova not going down well in some quarters.
In the fourth frame, Allen was put in a difficult position after his opponent played an excellent safety shot. He did not make contact with a red in attempt to play out of the predicament, with the referee awarding Lisowski a free ball after the cue ball nestled up near the brown. This would have left Lisowski a straightforward shot on the green and in a very strong position to win the frame.
Allen objected to this decision. What followed was eight minutes of debate between the referee and players, with Lisowski eventually agreeing to have the balls replaced and let Allen take the shot again.
While he would fail to hit a red again, a free ball was not called on this occasion. You can watch the incident below.
Was it a free ball?
Watch LIVE on ITV4 now!#ITVSnooker #WorldGrandPrix @WeAreWST pic.twitter.com/vjHQjs89DZ— ITV Snooker (@ITVSnooker) January 19, 2023
Lisowski became visibly frustrated during this period and seemed to lose his composure in the match. He would go on lose by the slimmest of margins.
Allen came in for some heavy criticism as a result of this incident, as well as employing what seemed to be a deliberately slow pace in order to put off his opponent.
@ITVSnooker who the heck does Mark Allen think he is. He is very intimidating to the female referee. Unacceptable. A bad sport too!! The ref is in charge not him!!
— Bev (@BevZombie) January 19, 2023
Who does Mark Allen think he is. He is very intimidating to the referee. Hope he loses, horrible man and bad sport!!
— Bev (@BevZombie) January 19, 2023
@ITVSnooker I can’t help but feel Mark Allen is purposely playing slow to frustrate Jack Lisowski. That incident with the free ball was ridiculous. The referee should’ve been more firmer with her decision
— Chris Kavanagh (@chriskavanagh__) January 19, 2023
Mark Allen defends run-in with referee
While Mark Allen has been condemned for his behaviour during this game, he believes he did nothing wrong.
Taking to social media, he said he was within his rights to question the referee's decision and was ultimately proven correct in doing so. He also dismissed the notion that he played at a slow pace in order to put off his opponent.
Years ago I was chastised for not questioning a ref when I was in the right. I was told I was allowed to….. now when I’ve questioned the ref again when in the right I’m chastised. I can’t win. Also, when the rule was actually explained to Jack, he knew he’d got it wrong
— Mark Allen (@pistol147) January 20, 2023
Also, for what it’s worth players make so many mistakes in their career… referees are allowed one too. Prolentina is a great ref, brilliant at her job, so please don’t start calling her out on it thanks. Keep them coming my way
— Mark Allen (@pistol147) January 20, 2023
I’ll also try to play really fast, go for everything and lose quickly next time just to keep you all happy 😂 and there’s me thinking it was about getting to 5 first tonight. 5 breaks over 50 to jacks 2. Mad how some people view things
— Mark Allen (@pistol147) January 20, 2023
Years ago I was chastised for not questioning a ref when I was in the right. I was told I was allowed to.
Now when I’ve questioned the ref again when in the right I’m chastised. I can’t win. Also, when the rule was actually explained to Jack, he knew he’d got it wrong.
Also, for what it’s worth players make so many mistakes in their career… referees are allowed one too. Prolentina is a great ref, brilliant at her job, so please don’t start calling her out on it thanks. Keep them coming my way.
I’ll also try to play really fast, go for everything and lose quickly next time just to keep you all happy and there’s me thinking it was about getting to five first tonight. Five breaks over 50 to Jack's two.
Mad how some people view things.
Speaking on ITV after the game, Neal Foulds said such a debate with a referee would not have gone down well in previous eras. Stephen Hendry also said the move was a questionable one, even if it did work.
Neal Foulds and Stephen Hendry have their say on THAT free ball...@fouldsy147 @SHendry775
Watch LIVE on ITV4 now!#ITVSnooker #WorldGrandPrix @WeAreWST pic.twitter.com/TuLQmKgkT3— ITV Snooker (@ITVSnooker) January 19, 2023
Mark Allen will now face Noppon Saengkham in the semi-finals of the competition later this evening.
SEE ALSO: Mark Selby Could Only Apologise After Giving Referee Nightmare Task At The Masters
