Ray's Referee Pocket
Westerham Snooker League sponsored by Oxted Interiors Limited
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Hi, I'm Ray Barrell of Westerham R.B.L. and am a qualified Snooker referee. Please feel free in posting your questions or disputes you may have and I shall endeavor to provide you with a definitive answer.

Question: I hope you can answer this question, I have looked in a rule book but could not find a answer.
Player A comes to the table mid game and he is faced with a touching red ball. He strikes the cue ball away, hits nothing, but because his
cue ball starts from a touching ball it is deemed to have touched a red, so no penalty is awarded.
Player B comes to the table, pots a red and his cue ball ends up touching another red. His next shot must be aimed at a colour, but because his cue ball is touching, is he automatically penalised knowing that his cue ball is already deemed to have touched a red?
Your answer will settle what at the time was quite a heated dispute.
Thank you.
Eric Rowntree

A member of The North End Bowling Club, Portsmouth.

 

        Answer:     There is no penalty as described with player A.

                            Also there is no penalty with player B. 

 

                           The referee does not need to state 'touching ball' (unless asked by the player) as in this instance, having already potted a Red, the Red the cue ball is now

                            touching is not the 'Ball on' However the referee should ask the player to declare which coloured ball player B intends to go for. A foul will only be committed if the Red is moved (or touched) when

                            the shot is played as it would be deemed to be a push stroke, or of course the cue ball first hits a ball not declared.

                            This is explained in the rule book I have (section 3 item 8), although I have had it for a number of years. I am sure they have not changed this rule.

 

                           Regards Ray

Question: Hi Ray, we had an argument at Oxted can you resolve the question:
A player strikes the cue ball with the intention of hitting a red ball but it hits the green, yes a foul, but the green then cannons into other balls and as a consequence the black ball is knocked into a pocket, I said that's foul 7 points. The others playing said no it's not! they said it should only be foul 4, I said no because as the rules state it is the highest point penalty that is awarded as the black left the table and if it had been the pink(6) or blue(5) their respective ball values would apply, a 4 point foul would only apply if the only foul was that of hitting the green ball or if any of the other lesser colours had been potted with a value of 4 or less. They insisted the foul was only 4 as in their argument that was the 1st contact foul, I said yes that would have applied had the black not gone in as a direct result of the shot played. Am I correct.
Richard Wood

        Answer:      I have looked in the rule book to confirm the answer as follows:

                            Section 3. The game. No.11 Fouls (g)
                            If more than ONE foul is committed in the same STROKE, the HIGHEST VALUE
                            penalty shall be incurred, in this case seven points.

                            As I said, you are correct and hope the above clears up the query.

                            Regards Ray

Question: When playing with the cue ball in hand, are you able to play your shot from any of the 3 spots on the D?
Stewart Pegrum

       Answer:    The "Official Snooker Rules" states:-
                          Quote
                          5. Playing from In-hand
                          To play from in-hand, the cue-ball must be struck from a position on or within the lines of the "D", but it may be
                          played in any direction.
                          (a) The referee will state, if asked, whether the cue-ball is properly placed (that is, not outside the lines of the "D").
                          (b) If the tip of the cue should touch the cue-ball while positioning it, and the referee is satisfied that the striker was
                          not attempting to play a stroke, then the cue-ball is not in play.
                          Unquote

                         Regards Ray

Question: In professional snooker it is now the responsibility of the ref eree if  balls are incorrectly spotted? - it used to
be the players & fouls awarded. In the amateur game is it still the players responsibility?
Nick Greenhill
        Answer:  The rule has changed. It is the referees responsibility to spot the balls not the players.

                         If the ball is incorrectly spotted i.e. Green is placed on the Yellow spot, the ball remains on the Yellow  spot if the mistake
                         is noticed after the next stroke is played.  However, if the mistake is noticed prior to the next stroke being played the ball
                         (in this case the Green) should be placed on it's correct spot.

                         No penalty points are awarded as the responsibility is the referees. I hope this clears up the query.

                         N.B. The rule applying to this situation as shown on our Web Site and on the internet, is incorrect.

                        Regards Ray