Mark Williams told the referee to 'stop moving' during his Welsh Open clash against Barry Hawkins on Thursday, something that left the official stunned.

With the match locked at two frames each, Williams attempted to pot a difficult red in the fifth frame. After getting the extended spider to help him reach the shot, he leaned over the table.

As he was close to other balls, referee Anastasiya Tuzikova moved around to get a better view. However, that put her in Williams' eyeline.

In response, in a good-natured exchange, he said, "Could you stop moving?" To which the referee replied: "What?"

Williams repeated: "Stop moving". The referee looked shocked and responded with:"Me?! Sorry."

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The exchange caused laughs from the crowd in attendance. Williams then composed himself to take the shot.

He ended up potting the red, but in a twist of fate, the white went in off, ending the break. BBC commentator John Parrott said: "Where's the cueball going though? Can you believe it? He didn't deserve that. What a pot that was. Sickener."

Williams went on to lose the frame and the match, with Hawkins taking the next frame to come out as the 4-2 winner.

The exchange comes just a day after Williams playfully told a snooker official to 'shut up' after a refereeing error during his clash with Martin O'Donnell. It was caused by confusion as to whether the yellow ball should be respotted after being potted.

Speaking after his 4-1 win over O'Donnell, Williams highlighted how much he enjoyed playing in his home tournament. "I'm still in it, and the last 16 is the furthest I've gone in a while," he told the BBC.

"But the crowd is fantastic, and it's a great arena. When the wind's not blowing, there's a good walk out the front as well. It's one of the best venues we play in, really.

"It's always supported. Even at 10 o'clock in the morning, there's 500 people in there, and you don't get that in many comps these days.

"It's a great place to play, and hopefully, if it's not me, one of the Welsh boys can get to the final. That's all we miss in this tournament - a Welshman to pick up the trophy."

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