Snooker ref's embarrassing clanger during John Higgins clash - 'I haven't got a clue' - The Mirror

John Higgins’ bizarre run at the Scottish Open became even weirder on Wednesday evening with referee Colin Humphries caught in the middle of chaos during his clash with Noppon Saengkham

John Higgins’ Scottish Open clash with Noppon Saengkham was blighted by a mistake by the referee as he struggled to re-position a ball. Higgins, 50, took on the Thai snooker star in the second round on Wednesday evening.

And while the first frame came and went as expected - Saengkham claiming the opener after 36 minutes - the game then descended into chaos. Higgins had kissed the pink in an attempt to catch a distant red.

That then forced referee Colin Humphries into repositioning the ball along with the reds into their original positions. But that’s when the game took an odd turn.

As Humphries looked up at his assistant screen, he was heard asking: “Was it this red?” Humphries continued to touch the wrong ball, with the original layout becoming increasingly disrupted as a result.

The referee then held a lengthy discussion with the marker over the original positions, while Higgins sat with his head bowed. "I'm sure this wasn't on your Christmas list, Colin," commentator David Hendon said while the fiasco was unfolding. "We could be here a while. That's not the right red, I'm afraid."

Once Humphries’ attempts at repositioning the table came to a close, Higgins stood to take the shot, with the referee remarking: “Are you okay where the reds are, because I haven't got a clue!"

Higgins changed his original shot, with both players then opting to return the ball down the table safely. But after 20 minutes, the frame was effectively struck off, with each player opting for a re-rack.

Saengkham eventually claimed a 4-0 win against Higgins, signing off with an eye-catching 100 break. The incident was just the latest bizarre involvement from the Scottish snooker star over the past week.

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During his first-round clash against Antoni Kowalski on Monday, he managed to snooker himself after sinking a red in fortunate circumstances, while things then got even worse.

After opting to use the spider against Kowalski, his cue fell off of the rack and crashed onto the nearby reds. Higgins failed to hide his smile at the incident, while the commentators were sent into fits of laughter.

"Well if anything summed up the start John Higgins has made, that was it," Dave Hendon said on commentary. "That was the opposite of a Christmas cracker, that shot."

Fellow commentator Neal Foulds added after stifling his laughter: "The whole sequence really... We shouldn't laugh, should we? This is one of the greatest players the world's ever seen, ladies and gentlemen."

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