Shaun Murphy has publicly criticised a spectator at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield after allegedly hearing them call one of his shots a 's*** shot' during his World Snooker Championship first-round match against Fan Zhengyi.
The 2005 world champion, who holds a 5-4 overnight lead, took to Instagram on Tuesday morning to vent his frustration. In a story post, he wrote: 'Just a friendly reminder... 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 added, tongue in cheek, that he missed his next shot while 'contemplating which end of my cue to nut him with'.
Murphy, 43, rallied to seal the final frame of the session with a stunning 140 clearance, giving him the upper hand ahead of the resumption at 7pm on Tuesday. The incident is not the first time Murphy has spoken out during this tournament; he previously criticised Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan for missing media day, saying it gave them an 'image problem'.
Murphy has also stepped away from his customary BBC commentary role for this year's event, stating it was a contractual decision and 'nothing to do with trying to prepare properly for the tournament'. He added that he never saw a conflict of interest in commentating while competing, despite receiving abuse for it in the past.
