Michaela Tabb leaves World Snooker Circuit

World Snooker has just released a statement announcing the fact that Scottish referee Michaela Tabb has decided to leave the World Snooker circuit.

The statement comes short after Barry Hearn, the Chairman of World Snooker Ltd. answered a question on his Twitter account regarding the recent absence of Michaela from World Snooker tournaments.

The one day we don't have snooker and bad news breaks our snooker loopies hearts! Michaela Tabb, one of the most popular faces on snooker refereeing and one of the best of her troop, decided to put an end to her collaboration with World Snooker.

At this particular moment we don't have any information regarding her departure, only World Snooker's statement that reads:

"Michaela Tabb, one of snooker's most experienced referees who took charge of two World Championship finals, has left the World Snooker circuit.

“Michaela's involvement in snooker began in 2001 when she was fast tracked by World Snooker having worked as a pool referee. She refereed her first snooker match at the Crucible Theatre in 2003, and in 2009 became the first woman ever to referee the World Championship Final.

“World Snooker would like to take the opportunity to thank Michaela for her contribution to World Snooker over the last 14 years and wish her all the best with her future refereeing endeavours."

What more can we add to this, rather than it's a sad day for snooker, fans and ... an end of an era. 

Here at SML blog, we would like to wish Michaela all the best and say a sincere thank you (not for the music), but for her passion and determination. 

She represents a genuine inspiration for every snooker ref out there and most importantly for the women who want to make it as a professional snooker referee.

In November last year another great ref, Eirian Williams decided to put his gloves away. You can read more about that here.