Push foul in Snooker World Championship semi-final, referee Marcel Eckhardt totally oblivious
In snooker, push shots and double contacts are not allowed. This particular double contact was performed by Stuart Bingham in a recent 2024 World Championship semi-final. The referee Marcel Eckhardt was oblivious.There is a very simple formula that all snooker referees can use to identify a double contact: Quite simply if (A) the distance the cue travels through the white is greater than (B) the distance between the two balls then it has to be a double contact. This is because the white will always slow down when it meets the object ball and this allows the cue to catch up for a second contact. (This all happens in a split second of course.)In this example, A is slightly greater than the width of a snooker ball and B is around the width of a ball.. so this is not particularly blatant. But there is a clear 'smoking gun' clue that gives it all away. The white gives a little jump at impact. This is because of the second contact. The white back-spins to the side and over the angled shaft of the cue (ramp effect). (The first contact sent the white towards the red.) For me, this is an obvious double contact. And the second contact is a push (cue contacts white exactly when white contacts the object ball) which is usually the case in a double contact situation.. The object ball would not go in the pocket otherwise. The timing would be off.*The 'very fine edge' loophole*From the rule book: "Where the cue-ball and the object ball are almost touching, it shall not be deemed a push stroke if the cue-ball hits a very fine edge of the object ball.” Loophole: As there is no definition in the rule book for a 'very fine edge' the player can define it himself in any way that suits him. So, technically speaking, it is only a foul if the referee says it is (but in this case the referee doesn't seem to be even aware that anything is amiss).This video is for educational purposes only.