A female spectator was removed from the Crucible Theatre during the World Snooker Championship final after leaping a barrier and shouting a protest against the television licence fee. The incident occurred in the third frame of the match between Shaun Murphy and Wu Yize.
The woman, seated in the front row, jumped the barrier and entered the arena, shouting, "Nobody pays their TV licence anyway, who pays their TV licence?" before using an expletive. Referee Rob Spencer intervened to block her from approaching the table, and security personnel quickly escorted her out of the venue. She is likely to be banned from future World Snooker events.
The protest came during a match already marred by interruptions. In the second frame, Murphy threw his cue rest after missing a green, seemingly distracted by a ringing phone. Spencer later addressed the crowd, warning: "Make sure your phones are silent or off. Don't be the person who gets thrown out." A spectator was later ejected after a phone alarm sounded while Murphy prepared to play a shot early in the 15th frame.
This follows a similar incident in Saturday's semi-final between Wu and Mark Allen, where a male spectator was ejected for shouting "Never forget the Epstein files" — a reference to recently released US government documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Multiple disruptions have plagued this year's World Championships in Sheffield, with fans repeatedly warned about phone usage and outbursts.