Referee at centre of O’Sullivan row is Covid-19 hero who worked on frontline

The official who was involved in a heated exchange with Ronnie O’Sullivan in the eighth frame of the World Snooker Championship final against the fourth seed Judd Trump

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Ronnie O’Sullivan punches table after mistake

Snooker referee Olivier Marteel found himself at the centre of a heated exchange with Ronnie O’Sullivan as the first session of the World Snooker Championship final drew to a close. The world number one was given a formal warning by the official for a gesture made in the eighth and final frame of the session.

The argument that followed overshadowed some captivating snooker, as the Rocket insisted the official was in the wrong about the accusations. He claimed Marteel had “seen nothing”, before telling him ”don’t start”, and sternly pointed his finger at the Belgian as he returned to the table to officiate.

Once the frame came to a close, O’Sullivan gave Trump a fist bump but refused to acknowledge the referee as he exited the Crucible. It was one of the 42-year-old official’s most challenging sessions of his career, but perhaps nothing he has encountered in the snooker world can compare to his experiences working on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Marteel worked as a nurse in Belgium during the pandemic, despite being trained as a radiologist. He personally requested to work in his hospital’s Covid-19 A&E department and when patients arrived for an assessment, he was regularly their first port of call.

Marteel checked their symptoms before deciding if they need to be tested for the disease or see a doctor. “I have never worked in an A&E situation like this before,” he said on World Snooker’s official website in 2020.

“When I was asked to take on this role, I didn’t even have one second of doubt. Ever since I was a young child I wanted to work in medicine. I trained for three years and I have been working for 28 years. So when this came up, I jumped at it, even if there are some risks. It is tough, of course. Just as you do in the UK, we have problems here getting enough personal protective equipment. This weekend we started using scuba diver masks which were bought in a sports shop, because we don’t have enough of the correct masks.

“The worst thing is the heat. The body produces a lot of heat but it can’t escape from the costume. I am often wearing two pairs of gloves – one for the whole day and another pair when I am treating patients. By the end of the day my hands feel like gum.” Marteel first qualified as a referee in 1994 and began refereeing on the main professional tour in 2006.

He took charge of his maiden World Snooker Championship final in 2015, becoming the first Belgian to do so, and the second referee from continental Europe after Jan Verhaas. “I have always said that refereeing is a piece of cake compared to my main job,” he added.

“I treat snooker like a job as well of course, but for me it is a holiday. And that will never feel more true than when I’m back at a tournament – before long I hope.” O’Sullivan has put any drama or controversy behind him and quelled a fightback from Trump to surge into a 12-5 lead overnight.