This year’s World Championship is a little different for top referee Tatiana Woollaston, who cannot take charge of matches involving one particular
A World Snooker Championship referee is banned from officiating in one player’s matches at the tournament – because she is married to him. Tatiana Woollaston, one of the top officials in the game, made her Crucible debut at the Covid-affected 2020 tournament.
At the 2024 World Championship, the Belarusian, 38, oversaw a single-table Crucible match for the first time, the semi-final between eventual champion Kyren Wilson and David Gilbert. But for the first time since she became a top-tier referee, Tatiana has been joined at the tournament by husband Ben Woollaston, the world No.44, who battled through qualifying to reach the Crucible. For his first World Championship appearance in 12 years, Ben was drawn against fellow Leicester cueist Mark Selby in the first round. But there was no prospect of Tatiana being involved as she is strictly barred from refereeing Ben’s matches, not that she would want to.
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“He’s on the circuit as a player, I’m on the circuit as a referee,” she said in an interview ahead of last year’s UK Championship, where she took charge of the final between Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins. “We’ve never really mix that. I’m obviously not allowed to referee his games and I wouldn’t want to, to be fair.”
However, there are no other restrictions on Tatiana’s Crucible duties while Ben is involved in the tournament. With the two-table set-up in play until the semi-final stage, she could conceivably referee while Ben is playing, although she is unlikely to be put in that position. Tatiana is also free to take charge of matches in her husband’s half of the draw.
Ben trails four-time world champion Selby 5-4 after the first session of their first round match, which concludes on Thursday night. Just being at the Crucible is a victory for the 37-year-old, who has been battling a chronic-fatigue-like condition since having a Covid jab four years ago.
