Who Identifies a Foul in the Game?
8/15/2024 10:05:45 PM
Who Identifies a Foul in the Game?
While playing 8 ball pool, a player made a shot on his object ball and no balls hit a rail. House rules say that's a foul and would result in ball in hand for the opponent.
In this situation, the shooting player did not say anything and allowed the opponent to continue playing the cue ball in place.
Is the offending player obligated by any rule to identify the foul, or is it the responsibility of the opponent (or other monitors)?
Dr. CutmoreThis question relates to the following billiard rules:
Who Identifies a Foul in the Game?
Replies & Comments
billiardsforum on 9/3/2024 6:19:06 AMIn short:
The World Pool-Billiard Association (the highest governing body for cue sports) says that when no referee is present, it is the responsibility of the "non-shooting player" to observe and call fouls if they occur.
In detail:
The World Pool-Billiard Association has a set of general "rule regulations" which addresses this exact question. Rule regulations are not part of any specific game's rules, but rather, they address things like "dress requirements, protests, scheduling issues, and other items that are not part of the actual Rules of Play but need to be regulated for the individual event".
Your specific issue is dealt with under rule regulation #5—"Playing With an 'Area' Referee" which has a tidbit that tells us that when a referee isn't present to officiate a shot (as is the case in your scenario):
- [...] players are still expected to observe all the rules of the game, and
- [...] the non-shooting player will perform all of the duties of the referee
The full regulation reads as follows (emphasis being ours):
5. PLAYING WITH AN "AREA" REFEREE
It may be that a tournament is being played with "area" referees who are each responsible for several tables and there is no referee constantly at each table. In this case, the players are still expected to observe all the rules of the game. The recommended way to conduct play in this situation is as follows.
The non-shooting player will perform all of the duties of the referee. If, prior to a particular shot, the shooting player feels that his opponent will not be able to properly judge the shot, he should ask the area referee to watch the shot. The non-shooting player may also ask for such attention if he feels that he is unable or is unwilling to rule on the shot. Either player has the power to suspend play until he is satisfied with the way the match is being refereed.
If a dispute arises between two players in an unrefereed match, and the area referee is asked to make a decision without having seen the cause of the dispute, he should be careful to understand the situation as completely as possible. This might include asking trusted witnesses, reviewing video tapes, or reenacting the shot. If the area referee is asked to determine whether a foul occurred and there is no evidence of the foul except the claim of one player while the other player claims that there was no foul, then it is assumed that no foul occurred.
Source: wpapool.com/rule-regulations
Hopefully that helps.
Who Identifies a Foul in the Game?
- Title: Who Identifies a Foul in the Game?
- Author: Dr. Cutmore
- Published: 8/15/2024 10:05:45 PM
- Last Updated: 9/3/2024 6:05:10 AM
- Last Updated By: billiardsforum (Billiards Forum)
