'It's always a hindrance to anyone's game' says Neil Robertson as he calls for snooker rule change

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NEIL ROBERTSON has called for a timer to be introduced to snooker with the aim of speeding players up when they are taking too long to line up a shot.

The 42-year-old was criticised by Judd Trump for his slow play when the two players met at the Champion of Champions earlier this month.

Trump said: “It was a tough game, it was very slow. I love Neil, but there was a lot of slow play and he's a much better player when he just gets on with it.”

Robertson has since insisted he was not intentionally playing slowly.

In fact, he wants a timer to be introduced so that players avoid taking too long while lining up a shot.

The Aussie explained: “I'm definitely not slower on purpose.

“It's always a hindrance to anyone's game. Maybe there's one or two players who play slow on purpose, but me, definitely not.”

He went on to reveal that Joe Perry once gave him a grilling for taking too much time on a shot.

Robertson continued: “Joe gave me a bit of a grilling when I was on a blue in the last frame and I was trying too hard to get perfect on the next red and I took, like, a minute-and-a-half over a shot.

“It's crazy to spend that much time on a shot. It's way too long.

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“That's why I think it would help with a timer. Not a shot clock that beeps, but something you can see.

“If it went to 30 seconds and the ref told you it's been 30 seconds then I'd have just dropped the blue in.

“We need some sort of time management system that benefits the players. It's not there as a punishment to make them play quicker.

“I've seen it with [Mark] Selby, I've even seen it with Judd before, taking four minutes on a shot because he couldn't decide what to do.

“If you get a bit of a nudge, you go: ‘OK, I'll just play this shot’. I think something like that could be good for the game.

“I think the game's slowed down a lot in the last few years. It's doing Stephen Hendry's head in in the punditry box, he doesn't enjoy it. I'd like to see something implemented to help the players.

“We're all trying so hard to win, the prize money has never been higher. I think players are just trying too hard. Something like that would benefit the players and the game.

Robertson will face Trump once again on Tuesday afternoon in the UK Championship.