Meet Desislava Bozhilova, the cake-making snooker ref who tells off BBC pundits and had run-in with Ronnie O’Sullivan

DESISLAVA BOZHILOVA has become one of the most respected referees in snooker for her ruthless approach to officiating the game.

The Bulgarian, 31, applied to become a referee in her home country after failing to make it as a professional player.

And, since officiating her first match 12 years ago, she has been praised for dealing with a number of situations in a positive way.

Cake-baking brilliance

That is while maintaining her hobby of cake-making – which she regularly shares with her 34,000 Instagram followers.

She has made cakes into Christmas trees, unicorns, hearts and even snooker balls.

Pioneer for female snooker referees

But it is at the Crucible where she has made her name, acting as a pioneer for other women wishing to reach a similar level.

In 2019, she said: “Everybody goes to Q schools and tournaments to qualify for professional tournaments. So if you are good enough, then it doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman.

“It all depends on one thing – whether you are good enough.”

Then three years later, she added: “I don’t know about other sports, but in snooker we are equal.

“It does not matter if you are a female or male ref, if you are good enough and you do your job properly, you get your opportunities.”

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She has also opened up about the nerves she feels ahead of big matches, though Desislava is quick to focus once the action gets underway.

She said: “When you walk out, you start the first frame and you get your concentration.

“You forget about everything around you and you calm down really quick.”

Desislava has shown an incredible nerve dealing with tricky scenarios in Sheffield.

Dressing down the commentators

In 2022, she told off BBC commentators for being too loud during a semi-final clash between Judd Trump and Mark Williams.

And the rival Eurosport team alerted viewers to the situation.

They said: “Just a bit of noise coming from the host broadcaster’s studio.

“Desislava banged on the window and told them to keep quiet. That’s the way to do it.”

But that is not the only time she has been in the spotlight at the Crucible.

O’Sullivan and Desislava’s positioning of the black

On Wednesday, at the 2024 edition of the world championships, she was involved in a debate with O’Sullivan surrounding the positioning of the black.

With the 12th frame of the quarter-final tie in the balance, O’Sullivan decided against extending his break of 28.

That is because the World No1 felt the black ball was not put back on its spot accurately.

Desislava ruled that the ball was in its proper position, but O’Sullivan was unsure and even called on his opponent to inspect.

O’Sullivan, 48, appeared concerned with how the black was rocking forward despite assurances from the referee that it had stayed in position, with commentator John Parrott describing it as a “horrible situation”.

After a consultation, Bingham gave O’Sullivan the go-ahead, but the seven-time champion still felt uneasy, so he decided to play a safety shot despite the pot being available.

Co-commentator Neil Robertson reacted by saying: “It’s unbelievable. If he plays safe here this will be probably the greatest bit of sportsmanship I’ve ever seen in any sport.

“Unbelievable. Incredible. He could have potted that red. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”