NEIL ROBERTSON will be fined in the region of £250 for an early Crucible concession after he misread the scoreboard.
Australia’s former world champion was trailing by 57-10 in the second frame of his first-round match with Pang Junxu at the World Snooker Championship.
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Neil Robertson missed a black which sparked the bizarre scenes Credit: X @WeAreWST
He was penalised for conceding a frame early Credit: X @WeAreWST
After missing a relatively simple black with the rest, he walked to his chair in disgust and informed the referee he would concede the frame to his Chinese opponent.
For some reason, he thought he was 57 points behind when the deficit was in fact 47 – he did not need any snookers because there were three reds left on the table.
When the referee told him he would be warned for his antics, because there were 47 points left, Robertson replied: “No. I was 57 behind.”
The official said: “There were three reds left. Can you bring the score up?”
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Robertson, 44, soon realised his error after seeing the TV footage and apologised for the mistake, saying: “Ah, I miscalculated the score. Yeah, sorry. Yeah. I didn’t mean it.”
The antipodean potter – who has not had the best of results in Sheffield since his title win 16 years ago – is set to be punished with a small fine after the tournament has finished.
As one of the seeds, Robertson has earned a minimum £20,000 for being in the draw.
He is wearing a gold-backed waistcoat to acknowledge his heritage from Down Under.
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Ken Doherty, the 1997 world champion, was commentating on the action for the BBC and the Irishman said: “Well, what has happened there?
“He has actually conceded when he can still win. He’s absolutely disgusted with missing that black.
“But that’s very unusual for Neil Robertson to do something like that. You don’t really see that in the game anymore.
“It’s going to cost him the first frame to Pang Junxu. It’s now 1-1.
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“I couldn’t believe that he had conceded. Not only will he be warned, he will incur a fine for that as well — £250 that cost him.”
Joe Perry, who is Robertson’s coach and close pal, said: “I am not entirely sure Neil realised he could still win.
“Because that is totally out of character. He is going to get a warning in a minute off the referee and then he will realise what he has done.
“I thought it was a miscalculation from Neil. He would never ever do that. It’s not in Neil’s character. Just a complete misread of the score.
“There was no petulance or anger from Neil. A nice little fine in the post.”
The referee informed Robertson of his miscalculation Credit: X @WeAreWST
The Aussie admitted his blunder and will be fined around £250 Credit: Getty
