Shaun Murphy receives backing from World Championship referee over big rule change

A top snooker referee has backed Shaun Murphy's call for the introduction of a shot clock. The 2005 world champion has campaigned for various rule changes in recent years, including a restriction on the time a player can spend deliberating over a shot. Speaking on his Onefourseven podcast in 2024, Murphy maintained that a 30-second cap would be adequate. He said: "I'd bring in a shot clock. And I've been saying this for 20 years, so I'm super-consistent on this." Desislava Bozhilova, 33, who took charge of last year's World Championship final between Zhao Xintong and Mark Williams, shares the Magician's view, though she believes players should to be granted additional time when facing a snooker. In a question-and-answer piece for the Telegraph , the Bulgarian official said: "I'd like to introduce a shot clock, but just for certain shots. JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! All the best sports news and much more on our dedicated Facebook page "You need more time if you are snookered, say, but in the middle of a break, I'd say a 30-second limit should be enough. It would help to stop time-wasting." Murphy has had a turbulent start to the World Championship, slamming an audience member who criticised one of his shots during the opening session of his first-round clash with Fan Zhengyi. Murphy said he lost concentration after a spectator in the front row muttered "s*** shot" during a gruelling battle, which he narrowly won 10-9. Murphy wrote on Instagram : "Just a friendly reminder that if you're sat on the front row in the Crucible and I play a shot that may not work for a particular reason, it's probably best not to say 's*** shot' out loud. I've got ears." He joked: "I missed my last shot as I was contemplating which end [of] my cue to hit him with." A separate incident involving Murphy also arose during the same match when, with the score level at 8-8, he was distracted by a light that unexpectedly switched on at the neighbouring table, where play had already finished. Despite managing to pot the blue he was over and winning the frame, he was furious and demanded an explanation. He said: "We don't ask for much as snooker players, leave the lights off is one of them. It affected the shot; it affected the match, that was poor. "I think World Snooker are having a bit of an inquest into how that happened because that shouldn't happen." Murphy started his second round match against Xiao Guodong on Thursday afternoon.