David Gilbert has called for a change to snooker’s rules. (Image: Getty)
Former World Snooker Championship semi-finalist David Gilbert has insisted one of the game’s most prominent rules must be scrapped because “everyone cheats” when it’s applied. Gilbert wants to see an end to the miss rule, which he also believes significantly slows the game down.
The miss rule is applied when a player commits a foul and the referee judges that a reasonable attempt was not made to hit the ball. “The miss rule is the worst rule ever, you should throw that in the bin,” Gilbert told Express Sport. “How boring is that rule? Everyone cheats, everybody plays to miss ten times and then get the thin edge, you know what I mean?
“It’s boring for the crowd, it’s boring for viewers, it’s boring for the players.
“At the Home Nations events, let’s have ball in hand for a foul. Let’s just speed it up. Anything to make it more jazzy.”
Gilbert, who has long been known for his outspoken views, has also repeated his past claims that he finds snooker “boring”.
“You’ve got to love snooker to watch it. I can’t watch a game. It’s boring, isn’t it?” Gilbert said.
“There’s a few players that I’d watch, but I couldn’t be an anorak and sit there all day. Even when I was a lad, I couldn’t. I could only watch (Stephen) Hendry, he was the man.
“It’s just so long-winded and hard. It’s great when you’re watching Stan (Moody) drill every ball in. But not every game is like that.”
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Gilbert, who reached the semi-finals at the Crucible in 2019 and 2024, was beaten 10-5 by Ding Junhui in the first round of this year’s tournament.
Despite his generally downbeat feelings on the game, Gilbert is excited by teenager Moody, who lost 10-7 to Kyren Wilson in the first round in his first appearance at the Crucible.
“I’ve practised a few times with Stan at my club. I’ve seen how attacking he is. I was shocked when I first played him. He’s brilliant for the game,” Gilbert said.
“I knew he’d go out there at the Crucible and put frames on the board and the crowd would love him and how he plays. It’s the most attacking style ever.”
“He wants to be part of the big time, and he’s not scared by it. How he plays is just completely all-out attack.
“He’s probably a bit like Judd (Trump) when he made the final as a kid. He reminds me of that. He doesn’t want to leave the table. He’s great for snooker.”
David Gilbert during his World Snooker Championship first-round match with Ding Junhui. (Image: Getty)
Gilbert was asked whether youngsters would be inspired by Moody if he started winning the biggest events, similar to the effect Luke Littler has had on darts. Gilbert is clearly far from convinced that would be the case.
“Sadly, in this day and age, the kids don’t want to play snooker,” he added.
“It’s too hard and everybody wants to be a social Instagrammer, a blogger, whatever you call them.
“They want to make money holding a phone. The kids are just all so lazy now, they just want to hold a phone and make money.
“When I was a kid, you went to work and earned some money. I worked on the farm for eight pound an hour and worked as hard as anyone for it. You won’t get a kid to do that now. Nobody wants to graft for anything any more. It’s quite sad.
“It is a shame that there’s no British talent any more. I’d love the growth to be there, but it isn’t is it? The youngsters want to play pool, it’s quick, easy, fast. Have a beer and get out of there.
“The Chinese guys are taking over. They work hard and they deserve all they get for it. It’s a tough game and you’ve got to put the time in, that’s the problem.”