Barry Hearn has called for custodial sentences for the protesters at the World Snooker Championship, saying there must be harsh deterrents or more events will be targeted.
Two Just Stop Oil activists entered the arena floor at the Crucible on Monday night, one jumping on Table One and the other being stopped before they could do the same on Table Two.
The man who managed to get on the table where Joe Perry and Rob Milkins were playing opened a bag and sprayed orange powder all over the baize, leading to the match being abandoned for the evening.
Hearn is concerned that punishments are not strict enough in these circumstances and feels more could be done to deter activists from causing chaos.
‘Sport’s an easy target. Aintree we saw on Saturday… How long before The Open or Wimbledon or whatever?’ Hearn said on talkSPORT. ‘And it is a concern because, whenever someone intrudes on the field of play, wherever it is, your first thought is not that this could be a protest, but it could be something quite harmful.
‘We’re such a soft touch as a nation – smack their wrists, give them a small fine, maybe a bit of community hours, maybe a month in prison. It’s a ludicrous situation but what do you do about it?
‘The problem is there’s not enough deterrent out there for these people to do anything but get away with it. It might cost them a few hours of their freedom but there’s no serious deterrent and, for that reason alone, expect more of these, not less.
‘It therefore puts the onus on promoters like us to say right well, we’re going to have to double up our security, treble up our security, maybe we have to do more body searches… but eventually it puts them off going. Of course all these costs have to be paid for.
‘Custodial sentences is my way. I’m a zero-tolerance type of guy.’
World Snooker Tour have confirmed that security will be increased for the rest of the tournament at the Crucible as a result of the shocking incident.
A WST statement read: ‘The security of the public and players is always our top priority at every WST event and we have robust measures in place at all times.
‘Following the incident at the Cazoo World Championship on Monday evening, we have increased existing security measures around the event at the Crucible.
‘These measures include: Extra security has been positioned within the arena and on the floor of play.
‘Only very small bags will be allowed into the arena and these will be vigorously searched. Any larger bags must be left in the cloakroom.
‘We also continue to liaise with local law enforcement authorities regarding these procedures.’
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