Snooker chief willing to listen over huge rule change after Shaun Murphy plea
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association chairman Jason Ferguson has expressed his willingness to potentially implement shot clocks in snooker. It comes following Shaun Murphy's call for their introduction.
The former world champion raised the issue last December, criticising Mark Allen for slow play during his UK Championship semi-final against Barry Hawkins while providing commentary for the BBC. Murphy, who addressed the matter on social media after Allen's rebuttal, further discussed it on his Onefourseven Podcast, advocating for a shot clock to alleviate the burden on officials around slow play warnings.
"I'd bring in a shot clock," Murphy declared last year. "And I've been saying this for 20 years, so I'm super-consistent on this."
In conversation with co-host Phil Seymour regarding the duration each shot should be allotted, Murphy suggested: "30 seconds. I think a shock clock that is unemotive, unemotional – it can't be swayed, it's not open to opinion – takes all of the pressure off the referees.
"This section of the rules puts our referees in a terrible position where some of them get involved and warn a player who's fighting.
"If we had shot clock, and you can negotiate on 30 seconds... years ago, I got widely criticised for wanting a shot clock.
"Now the tide is starting to turn, not in totality, but it is starting to turn and I think, in years to come, we'll see it become a thing."
The WPBSA chief had his say on Murphy's shot clock suggestion
Earlier this week, Ferguson appeared on Stephen Hendry's Cue Tips, where he was asked by the Scotsman about potential changes to the professional tour. "I think we've always got to be open-minded about change," Ferguson replied.
He expressed his willingness to reconsider shot times, saying: "Dress code is something you can tamper with a little bit but I'd still like to see the big events protected. One thing I'd like to see is perhaps a more open look at shot times."
However, Hendry was hesitant to alter the sport's major tournaments, stating: "The major events I don't think you need to muck around with. The World Championship should always be the hardest test. Stamina, skill, bottle, everything."
Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy got into a spat last December (Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)
Murphy discussed the controversy between himself and Allen last year, where he had praised Allen's strategy later in his podcast.
He said (via the Express): "I'm employed by the BBC to call the game as I see it, and that's what I did. I don't remember ever saying that there was anything wrong with what he did.
"I said he was perfectly within his rights, perfectly within the rules. And if I'm totally honest, I was watching in admiration because he was breaking down a player who the day before had slaughtered me."
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