Olivier Marteel

Olivier Marteel (born 10 May 1969)^[1] is a Belgian professional snooker referee who officiates on the World Snooker Tour.

Marteel in 2013

Career

Born in Nieuwpoort, he now lives in Gijverinkhove.^[2] He first qualified as a referee in 1994 and began refereeing on the main professional tour in 2006.^[2] He took charge of his first World Snooker Championship final in 2015, becoming the first Belgian to referee a world final, and the second referee from continental Europe to do so, after Jan Verhaas.^[3] Marteel refereed his second world final in 2022.^[2][4]

Marteel is a qualified nurse and has been nursing since his twenty-first birthday.^[5] He worked in the frontline as a nurse in Belgium during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite being trained as a radiologist.^[6][7][8] In addition to the World Championships, Marteel has officiated the Masters final twice, in 2016 and 2018, and the UK Championship final twice, in 2016 and 2020.^[9] He also plays snooker and has achieved highest breaks of 133 in practice and 78 in competition.^[2]

In the 2023 World Snooker Championship he deftly stopped a female Just Stop Oil protester from mounting the table moments after a male protester had done so on the opposite table. His rapid response likely saved the session (And evening) from being rescheduled as the first table was unusable post protest. ^[10]

References

1. . 2020-01-11. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
2. . World Snooker. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
3. . World Snooker. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
4. "Marteel To Take Charge Of World Final - WPBSA". WPBSA. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
5. "WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP: MEET SNOOKER REFEREE AND NURSE OLIVIER MARTEEL WHO HALTED CRUCIBLE PROTESTER". Eurosport. 19 April 2023. from the original on 20 April 2023.
6. "How a referee is helping to fight coronavirus on frontline in Belgium". The Independent. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
7. "How snooker ref joined frontline fight against Covid". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
8. "Snooker referee Olivier Marteel is on hospital frontline in Belgium". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
9. . World Snooker. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
10. "Snooker Championships ref hauls protester off table as fans say 'don't mess with him'". Daily Star. Retrieved 17 April 2023.

^[1]

External links

1. "WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP: MEET SNOOKER REFEREE AND NURSE OLIVIER MARTEEL WHO HALTED CRUCIBLE PROTESTER". Eurosport. 19 April 2023. from the original on 20 April 2023.