Ronnie O'Sullivan: 'Some referees have got it in for me' after World Snooker Championship exit

Ronnie O’Sullivan bowed out of the World Snooker Championship in combative fashion last night, arguing that some referees had it in for him and he had to be coaxed into playing this year’s event.

Former champion Stuart Bingham produced a stunning display to shock the tournament favourite on a day of surprises for a 13-10 quarter-final victory, with Judd Trump another unexpected loser.

O’Sullivan had looked out of sorts at points during the match, punching the table in frustration at one poor shot, taking umbrage with spectators for entering the Crucible arena during play and becoming embroiled in two exchanges with referee Desislava Bozhilova.

One was over fans coming and going to their seats, the other in the 12th frame when, trailing by 14 points, he opted to go for a safety shot rather than a potable red because he did not believe the black had been respotted correctly.

Former world champion Neil Robertson called it “the greatest bit of sportsmanship I’ve ever seen”, while World Snooker defended the actions of the Bulgarian referee.

In the aftermath, O’Sullivan said: “To be honest with you, some of the referees, I think they’ve got it in for me, so I just wanted to prove to her that she’d got it wrong.

“I didn’t feel good about having to pot the ball after that, but I just wanted to make a point.

“I’m not hungry to win that way. I’m more of a principled person, so once the principle’s been made, I can sleep at night.”

The seven-time champion also revealed he had nearly opted to stay away from the Crucible rather than go for an outright record eighth title.

“I wasn’t going to play because of how I was feeling about playing,” he said. “They sort of twisted my arm.”