Ronnie O’Sullivan out of world championships, says refs ‘have got it in for me’ after quarter-final loss to Stuart Bingham
- The 2015 champion came through 13-10 and will face Welsh qualifier Jak Jones for a place in the final
- Victory was overshadowed by an incident in the 12th frame involving O’Sullivan and referee Desislava Bozhilova
Ronnie O’Sullivan said some referees have “got it in for me” after his bid to capture a record eighth world snooker title was crushed by Stuart Bingham in the quarter-finals.
Bingham, the 2015 champion, came through 13-10 and will face Welsh qualifier Jak Jones, who stunned former champion Judd Trump 13-9 in his last-eight encounter, for a place in the final.
However, Bingham’s victory was overshadowed by a bizarre incident in the 12th frame involving O’Sullivan and referee Desislava Bozhilova.
O’Sullivan was initially praised for an act of sportsmanship after seeming to play safe rather than opting to pot a red close to the black because he believed the black had not been spotted correctly.
The world number one, who was 14 points behind and on a break of 20, eventually lost the frame but was hailed for his gesture, with former world champion Neil Robertson calling it “the greatest bit of sportsmanship I’ve ever seen”.
However, O’Sullivan hit out at officials.
