Play was halted at the Crucible during the World Snooker Championship after a protester wearing a Just Stop Oil t-shirt ran into the arena, jumped onto the table and scattered a bag of orange powder across the surface.
The incident happened during Robert Milkins’ clash with Joe Perry in the evening session, forcing a delay of around 40 minutes before any play resumed.
“We’ve got a protester who is throwing powder on the table - I’ve never seen the likes of this before,” said the shocked commentator on Eurosport as events unfolded.
“He’s being roundly booed by the audience but play is going to have to be suspended while they deal with the mess on the table.
“I don’t know what he’s protesting and frankly I don’t care - thankfully no-one was hurt and they’re going to have to try and remove that complete mess.”
Angry shouts could be heard from the crowd in attendance, along with scattered applause when the protester was removed.
A separate wide-angle camera shot appeared to show a second protester being stopped before reaching another table, where Mark Allen and Fan Zhengyi were playing, apparently attempting to affix themselves to it.
Eurosport later reported that the matter was being dealt with by the police, with all four players involved in the two matches having returned to the dressing rooms.
“History created at the Crucible, though not the sort of history we would like. But, hopefully, it looks like no one is hurt,” presenter Rishi Persad said.
“Protesters causing trouble at the World Championship is not something we predicted, but these things are happening with increasing regularity. The players are all leaving the arena.”
Former world champion Stephen Hendry, on commentary duties for the BBC, said: “I have never seen that before at a snooker event. It’s a first.
“It is scary. Wow! You just hope the cloth can be recovered from that. It caught us all by surprise and then this happens.
“For me, straight away as a snooker player I am thinking: ‘Is the table recoverable?’ We don’t know what that is on the table.”
Just Stop Oil issued a statement which read: “At around 7:20pm, two Just Stop Oil supporters have disrupted the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, interrupting play.
“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 civil resistance against the Government’s genocidal policies.”
World Snooker Tour officials confirmed that the match between Allen and Zhengyi was set to resume after a delay of approximately 45 minutes.
The affected table in the Milkins-Perry encounter was covered and will be re-clothed overnight, with a decision to be made later on whether the match between them will resume following the conclusion of Allen-Zhengyi.
Over the weekend, the Grand National was the subject of protests from animal rights groups and one horse died following the delay to proceedings.
Additional reporting by PA
