Surprise as referee replaces pink in wrong spot in Ronnie O'Sullivan v Pang Junxu match at World Championship -'It’s miles away'

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Jan Verhaas is one of snooker's elite referees, having officiated in six World Championship finals, but even the great Dutchman is not infallible and he was guilty of an error during the match between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Pang Junxu at the Crucible. Watch and stream top snooker action, including the World Championship, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+.

'It wasn't even close' - Referee replaces ball in wrong place during O'Sullivan v Pang clash

Video credit: TNT Sports

World Championship finals, UK Championship finals, and Masters finals, referee Jan Verhaas may not have the snooker CV of Ronnie O’Sullivan, but it is pretty impressive nonetheless.

The great O’Sullivan can make mistakes, and so too can Verhaas.

In O’Sullivan’s clash with Pang Junxu in the second round of the World Championship on Sunday afternoon, Verhaas took centre stage for the wrong reasons.

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Pang had just potted a pink in the 15th frame and was lining up his next red when he was stopped in his tracks and made a beeline for the centre of the table to confirm his suspicions, as Verhaas had placed the pink well away from its spot.

"That is not the pink spot," Phil Yates said on commentary for TNT Sports. "It is nowhere near the pink spot."

Explaining what may have happened, after Pang had glanced the way of Verhaas to notify him of his mistake, Neal Foulds added: "He’s just put it on a chalk mark, it’s absolutely miles away.

"It’s miles away, and he was miles away.

"It wasn’t even close, it was in the middle of nowhere."

Yates suggested he spotted the problem immediately, but did not want to question a man who had refereed six World Championship finals.

"Jan Verhaas is such a good referee, I knew that wasn’t the pink spot, but I was frightened to say anything," Yates said.

Thankfully for Pang, once the pink was back on its spot, his concentration was not checked as he potted his next red.

But for Pang, he did not pot enough reds - or colours - as O’Sullivan raced into a 12-4 lead.

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Watch and stream top snooker action, including the World Championship, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+

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