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Shaun Murphy demands four major rule changes to snooker including banning act that has become an ‘epidemic’

SHAUN MURPHY wants four major rules changes in snooker.

The 42-year-old was crowned Masters champion in January and he has since started a YouTube channel teaching skills to snooker enthusiasts.

Shaun Murphy of England during a snooker match.
Shaun Murphy has proposed four rule changes to snooker
Getty

He has also been busy coming up with new ideas to transform the sport, some of which could make it more entertaining.

Murphy has not been quiet on the aspects of snooker he thinks hold it back, and he has proposed four changes over the last few months.

Spotted ball

Murphy has been using a spotted ball in his YouTube sessions and he believes the World Snooker Tour should follow suit.

The spotted ball allows his viewers to see exactly where he is hitting the cue ball, helping them to learn and improve their skills.

Murphy wants to bring that to a wider audience, saying: “You guys are loving seeing the spin, how the spin manipulates the cue ball and what it’s actually doing.

“It’s great that you can see it with one of these. You know what? I actually think we should be using one of these in tournament play.

“I think that you should be able to see this when we’re playing. Think about this, snooker, currently, is the only table sport and cue sport that doesn’t use one of these.

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“They are using it in billiards, they’re using it in nine-ball, they are using it in everything. Maybe it’s time that snooker moved on, just so you guys can see what’s happening.”

Foul and a miss rule

Murphy wants to get rid of the rule that allows players to foul and miss when trying to get out of snookers.

He believes it hands the opponent an unfair advantage as players are given the chance to get a sighter in when they are snookered.

He said: “I just find it so weird that we have a rule in the game that allows players to have a sighter.

“In my opinion, the miss rule needs to be taken out of the game altogether. I don’t like the rule at all.” Back in 2020, Murphy suggested an alternative on social media, proposing: “Instead, I’d give ball in hand after any foul.”

Shot clock

The Magician has expressed his desire to see a shot clock brought in down the years.

Murphy has also been critical of the slow tempo of some of his fellow pros, clashing with Mark Allen in December over the issue.

The change could make snooker a bit more easy on the eye, and prevent matches being dragged out.

The world No10 shared his thoughts on the issue, saying: “I’d bring in a shot clock. And I’ve been saying this for 20 years, so I’m super-consistent on this.”

Toilet break times

Murphy has also complained about his colleagues taking lengthy toilet breaks.

He slammed the practice as “ridiculous” and labelled it an “epidemic”.

The former world champion said: “Toilet breaks. We have to talk about the epidemic of toilet breaks that are spoiling snooker action.

“It is now getting ridiculous, guys. It is getting totally out of hand. It is ridiculous how many times players are leaving the arena to go to the loo.

“And here’s where it gets spicy because most of these exits from the arena have got nothing to do with players needing to go for a wee. It’s good old-fashioned gamesmanship.

“My opponent last week went to the toilet after the first frame of the match, then after the fifth frame after the interval. You’ve had 20-odd minutes to be ready to play. What’s going on? It’s getting ridiculous. It’s a joke.”

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Man City ‘hero’ and former coach who ‘gave so much to help footballers’ dies aged 87 as emotional tributes pour in

TRIBUTES have been paid to ex-Manchester City player and coach Steve Fleet who died aged 87.

The goalkeeper was recently diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer.

Black and white photo of Steve holding a soccer ball.

He played for Bolton Wanderers as a schoolboy, joined City as an amateur in 1953.

After retirement her joined coaching at Stockport County in 1970, including a brief stint as caretaker manager before returning to City coaching its young stars.

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Brit spies STAGED North Sea tanker crash to blame Moscow, Putin’s barmy propagandists claim as Russian captain arrested

MOSCOW has attempted to blame British spies for staging the North Sea tanker crash after a Russian captain was arrested.

Pro-Putin propagandists have attempted to shift the blame by pushing a wild conspiracy theory.

Aerial view of a burning cargo ship being towed by two tugboats.
Getty
The MV Solong cargo ship collided crashed in the North Sea, off the Yorkshire coast[/caption]
Oil tanker and cargo vessel on fire in the North Sea.
X/Tessaronnews
A horrifying blaze ignited after the oil tanker and cargo vessel collided[/caption]
Burning cargo ship and tanker in the North Sea.
AP
Russian conspiracy theorists have attempted to put claim British spies were behind the horror crash[/caption] Illustration of a map showing the location of a collision between an oil tanker and a cargo ship in the North Sea, along with a photo of the burning ships.

Shipping company Ernst Russ confirmed today that the captain of the Solong container ship – now in custody  – is Russian.

Panic sparked after his vessel rammed into the Stena Immaculate – a US military ship – off the coast of England.

The Russian captain has not been named by Humberside police but was arrested “on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision”.

The horror collision ignited dramatic fires on both ships and raised fears about whether it was an attack.

Putin‘s puppets have pushed a crazed conspiracy theory that British spies were to blame for the horror crash.

Russian media commentator Vladimir Kornilov said: “How predictable everything is with the British.

“The arrested captain of the Portuguese dry cargo ship Solong, which rammed an American military tanker off the coast of England just before the [war] negotiations between Russia and the USA, of course, turned out to be a Russian citizen.”

The conspiracy theorist even attempted to claim Moscow would be blamed and said “London would definitely look for a ‘Russian trace’”.

He added: “Something tells me that this whole accident was organised under this ‘trace’.”

Another Kremlin propagandist, Sergey Mardan, also peddled the mad idea.

He said: “There are many interesting coincidences and details in this case.

“Pentagon fuel, a tanker flying an exotic American flag for the merchant fleet, and now a Russian captain.

“The location of the emergency should also be taken into account – the territorial waters of Great Britain.”

Plenty of unanswered questions remain, including why anti-crash systems failed.

Shadow transport minister Jerome Mayhew said the nationality of the Solong’s captain raises “further questions” about the incident.

He said: “Where military assets are damaged it is vital that motives are fully investigated to exclude foul play.

“The nationality of the captain of the Solong raises further questions about potential motivation that the Government must now get to the bottom of.”

The shipping company confirmed the rest of the crew were Russian and Filipino.

Vladimir Kornilov, analyst at Russia Today.
East2West
Pro-Putin Vladimir Kornilov claimed the ‘accident was organised’[/caption]
Sergey Mardan, Kremlin propagandist and pro-war pundit.
Kremlin propagandist and pro-war pundit Sergey Mardan also claimed British spies were behind the collision
East2West
Aerial view of a damaged cargo ship in the North Sea.
Getty
AT SEA, ENGLAND – MARCH 11: In this aerial view smoke billows from the MV Solong cargo ship in the North Sea, off the Yorkshire coast, on March 11, 2025 in the United Kingdom. Thirty-six people were reportedly brought ashore, and one taken to hospital, after the collision of the oil tanker Stena Immaculate and […][/caption]

One sailor from the Solong remains missing but is presumed dead.

Cops are continuing to speak to those involved to understand what happened after the vessel collided with US-flagged tanker Stena Immaculate.

Salvors are readying themselves to get onboard the tanker this morning, with “no visible flames” present, according to HM Coastguard.

The statement added: “Only then will it be possible to carry out comprehensive damage assessments.”

The White House has also not ruled out foul play, according to a senior official.

More questions have been raised after it emerged that a July 2024 inspection in Dublin found the vessel’s “emergency steering position communications/compass reading” unreadable.

Inspectors found a total of 10 deficiencies, including “inadequate” alarms, survival craft “not properly maintained” and fire doors “not as required.”

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BBC to make landmark Michael Jackson documentary to mark his 65th birthday

A LANDMARK documentary about Michael Jackson is being made by the BBC – in the same year he would have reached his 65th birthday.

The series comes from 72 Films, who are the same production company who gave us shows on the likes of Jimmy Saville, Donald Trump, Elon Musk and The Kardashians.

Michael Jackson and his father, Joseph Jackson, leaving a courthouse under an umbrella.
Getty
The singer led a highly publicised life and was the subject of multiple sexual abuse accusations and police investigations as well as civil and criminal lawsuits[/caption]
Photo of Michael Jackson and a young boy.
YouTube/Channel 4
Explosive Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland 2 is released on 18th March[/caption]

Likely to air on BBC Two, it will take a comprehensive look at the life story of a man still considered to be the King of Pop, who died in 2009 aged 50.

It will touch on his many incredible achievements as well as the controversies that overshadowed his life in later years.

The announcement comes just days before Channel 4 air Leaving Neverland 2.

It’s a sequel to Leaving Neverland which was made in 2019 and revolved around Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who alleged that they were befriended and then abused by the singer.

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The second series will follow their journey since then as they try to take their cases through the US courts.

A TV insider said: “The BBC documentary is neither intended as a hatchet job, nor a glowing fluff piece about Jackson, it’s intended to look at the phenomenal figure in the round.

“The production team behind the show have a reputation for taking a deep dive into the stories of hugely important global figures, and this is likely to be one of the most eagerly anticipated biographies of Jacko.”

Almost every TV show about Jackson tends to inspire a passionate response, particularly from his army of devoted fans.

When Leaving Neverland aired it saw his devotees claim the allegations were fabricated.

They even protested outside the head offices of Channel 4, where editors originally conceived the project.

Several documentaries were made rebutting the claims and the Jackson estate sued HBO for distributing the film.

It remains to be seen how strong the response will be to the BBC documentary, which is likely to air later this year or early next year.

Michael Jackson performing on stage.
Getty
The new documentary will be released to mark what would have been the singer’s 65th birthday[/caption]
Portrait of Michael Jackson wearing a hat and sunglasses.
Redferns
The singer, who died in 2009, still has a huge fan base[/caption]

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EastEnders fans spot hilarious soap blunder while Bianca was shopping in the Minute Mart – did you see it?

EASTENDERS viewers could not get over an interesting sign in the Minute Mart as Bianca Jackson went shopping.

Played by Patsy Palmer, Bianca heads into the local shop where she stops for a chat in the biscuit aisle with Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth).

Screenshot of a scene from EastEnders showing Bianca in a Minute Mart.
BBC
Eastenders fans were distracted by a sign spotted behind Bianca Jackson in the Minute Mart[/caption]
Scene from EastEnders in a convenience store.
BBC
She was speaking to Kathy Beale while doing her shopping[/caption]
A woman in a silver jacket talking in a shop.
BBC
The sign said there was a ‘3 for 2 deal on Mother’s Day chocolates’[/caption]

As the two women speak, fans watching Tuesday’s episode at home became distracted with a sign for a Mother’s Day offer behind Bianca.

Standing in front of the biscuits, the sign over Bianca’s shoulder read: “3 for 2 on Mother’s Day chocolate.”

Fans reacted to the sign on Reddit, joking that people usually only had one mum.

“This made me laugh so much. Most people don’t have two mother’s let alone three so it’s a very niche market they’re aiming this promotion at 😂,” wrote one person on the Eastenders subreddit.

“I saw that! It gave me a little chuckle 😃,” replied a second.

But others commented that people often also buy Mother’s Day chocolates for the grandmothers, mother-in-laws and step-mothers.

“I fear this may be common sense, but you do know you can buy one mother multiple gifts right? Also mothers often have more than one child that needs to get them a gift 🤦,” commented a third.

Some Reddit users poked fun at the complicated family relationships on EastEnders, and that would mean characters are likely to have buy lots of presents every year.

“Let’s face it in Walford you got your mum, at least one step mum and at least another one of your dad’s affair partners,” wrote someone else.

And another added: “I mean, if you’re Peter Beale, you had Cindy, Mel, Laura, Jane…”

Patsy returned to Walford to play Bianca a character she last played in 2019 and first played in 1993.

Portrait of Patsy Palmer.
Getty
Patsy Palmer first played Bianca Jackson in 1993[/caption]
Bianca Jackson and Reiss Colwell in a cafe scene from EastEnders.
BBC
She has returned to the soap multiple times with her most recent comeback happening last year in 2024[/caption]

EastEnders facts and figures

THE beloved British soap has been captivating audiences for decades.

EastEnders follows the lives of the residents of Walford as they navigate love, loss, family drama, and community struggles.

Here’s the latest on:

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