‘He doesn’t need the toilet!’

There was some surprising drama during the UK Championship third round of qualifying match between Gary Wilson and Andres Petrov on Tuesday.

Petrov, nicknamed The Tallinn Lamborghini, came through the match a 6-4 winner, but not before there was a bit of heat between the pair at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.

Wilson annoyed Petrov by continuing to play on when he needed six snookers in the sixth frame of the match with the Estonian leading 74-1 before eventually conceding.

When he did after missing a red to the middle pocket, Petrov walked off to the toilet after getting the permission of the referee to do so.

That clearly infuriated Wilson who, rather than take a seat in his chair, walked over to the referee and remonstrated about his opponent taking the trip to the restroom.

“He doesn’t need the toilet!” said Wilson.

“He has been the first frame, he has been the first frame after the interval and he just went there again now. He doesn’t need the toilet.”

Eventually, Wilson took to his seat as the balls were placed back on the table.

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The morning after, Petrov posted a video of the incident on Twitter and hit back at Wilson.

“I would say here ‘he doesn’t need to play when needing six snookers’ but I just don’t care,” he wrote.

A user then responded to Petrov: “Now telling the ref his opponent doesn’t need the toilet. Would you get that in any other sport?!

Petrov responded by adding: “Class act from a top player. I would love to have him as my gastroenterologist.”

There was additional anger in the match when a frustrated Wilson tossed his cue to the ground after Petrov missed a double on the pink and fluked it in as a treble instead.

A Twitter exchange ensued between Wilson and Petrov with both having their say on the events of the toilet trips.

Petrov faces Xiao Guodong in the final round of qualifying on Thursday.

It was not the first drama during the UK Championship qualifiers. A day earlier, Mark King was left incensed after being penalised for what the referee felt was a push shot during his match against Oliver Brown.

“How is that a foul? No way in a million years!” King exclaimed.

“That is ridiculous, that wasn’t even touching, the white’s gone away from it and I’ve banana’d the white.

“On my kids’ life that is never a push shot in a thousand years, it’s ridiculous, the white is going away from the red it’s ridiculous, it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

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