Mark Allen has labelled Just Stop Oil protesters ‘complete idiots’ after his World Snooker Championship match with Fan Zhengyi was interrupted on Monday. A man and a woman have since been taken into custody over the incident, which suspended play on one table for 40 minutes and saw another called off until Tuesday.
Allen, currently ranked third in the world, is considered a serious contender to win his first world title in 2023. The Northern Irishman has already won three other titles this season and kicked off his Crucible campaign against Fan.
Leading 6-3 ahead of the second session, Allen’s match was halted as Just Stop Oil protesters snuck into the arena. A woman got a leg on the table but was promptly pulled away by quick-thinking referee Olivier Marteel, who was praised for how he dealt with the drama.
In the adjacent match between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry, a man stood on the table before dispensing a packet of orange dye, which halted the contest altogether.
“I think I was the last person to realise what was going on, I was so engrossed in my shot,” Allen explained. “We shouldn’t even be speaking about them – complete idiots. Just crazy, I don’t see the point or purpose.
“There must be better ways of making their point. They could have had weapons or anything, and fair play to Olivier and the security guards who prevented it happening on our table.”
Allen and Fan were both given a warm ovation by supporters upon returning to the arena at 8pm on Monday, with the former potting the first ball after the restart and making light of the situation by joking: “I don’t know what all the fuss was about.”
A 10-5 win saw Allen, 37, through to the next round, while the match between Milkins and Perry is due to restart at 7pm on Tuesday. Snooker legend Stephen Hendry called the incident ‘scary’ and admitted he had ‘never seen it before’. The protest group released a statement on social media shortly afterwards.
“At around 7:20pm, two Just Stop Oil supporters have disrupted the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, interrupting play,” it read. “The pair proceeded to cover the tables in orange powder paint before being removed by security and arrested.
“They are demanding that the government immediately stop all new UK fossil fuel projects and are calling on UK sporting institutions to step into in civil resistance against the government’s genocidal policies.”
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