Female referees reach the top of snooker – players don’t

When she takes charge of the World Championship final in Sheffield next month, Desislava Bozhilova will become the first woman to have refereed snooker’s three biggest tournaments.

It’s a success for her, but a reminder of the parlous state of the sport itself – at least for women.

Top-tier snooker competitions are mixed-gender events, but most female players fail to qualify. All of the 100 highest-ranked players are men, and only four women are among the top 128 eligible to compete on the World Snooker Tour.

There is a parallel women’s tour, but it gets little coverage and, because prize winnings pale in comparison, it’s hard for players to make a living.

It shouldn’t be this way in a sport that is based on skill more than strength. But the training grounds (pubs and snooker halls) are traditionally male environments with misogynistic reputations.

Unhelpful comments from snooker greats don’t help either, nor do the sport’s ties with Saudi Arabia.

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