Ronnie O’Sullivan embroiled in ref row in opening session of Crucible final

Ref Marteel admonished O’Sullivan for making an obscene gesture

Ronnie O’Sullivan leads Judd Trump after the opening session of their World Snooker Championship final (Zac Goodwin/PA)

Ronnie O’Sullivan accused referee Olivier Marteel of “looking for trouble” after an angry exchange marred the opening session of the World Snooker Championship final against Judd Trump in Sheffield.

Marteel admonished O’Sullivan for making an obscene gesture after the six-time champion failed to get out of a snooker in the eighth frame, prompting a plainly irritated O’Sullivan to challenge the official to check the camera and insist he “saw nothing”.