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A female spectator was ejected from the Crucible Theatre after jumping over the barrier and shouting in protest against the television licence during the World Championship final.
The match between Shaun Murphy and Wu Yize was briefly interrupted in the third frame when the woman swore while saying: “Nobody pays their TV licence anyway, who pays their TV licence?”
She entered the arena from the front row but was prevented from making any further progress towards the table by referee Rob Spencer, before security escorted her out of the venue.
It is likely she will be banned from attending future World Snooker events.
A TV licence is required to watch or record live TV on any channel or service in the UK or use BBC iPlayer. Income from the fee is largely used to fund the BBC’s television, radio and online services.
The incident followed a male spectator being ejected from the venue late in Saturday’s semi-final between Wu and Mark Allen after shouting: “Never forget the Epstein files.”
In February, the US government released millions of new files from its investigation into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Names of some of the world’s most rich and powerful people with links to the disgraced financier are contained in the files.
There is no suggestion that appearing in the documents implies any wrongdoing. Many people who have featured in previous releases have denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
There have been multiple disruptions during this year’s World Championships in Sheffield.
There were several instances of shouting during the Wu-Allen semi-final and fans have repeatedly been warned about phone usage.
In the second frame of the final, Murphy threw down the rest after missing a green, having appeared to be distracted by a phone ringing.
Spencer subsequently addressed the crowd and said: “Make sure your phones are on silent or switched off. Don’t be the person that has to be thrown out.”
He also warned spectators about having their phones off or on silent after the mid-session interval on Sunday night.
A person was then asked to leave the arena after their phone alarm went off while Murphy was about to play a shot just after the start of the 15th frame.
