LMAO

i heard him too,and im 35 years and 5 days away

I heard him and I was 100 miles away!

Higgins was actally standing near the table when Thorburn said green, so he almost certainly heard him.

he said green as he bent over to play the shot. I can understand a little noise masking his voice. That said the referee basically called Thorburn and a proportion of the crowd liars. I think that was unfortunate and Id hope the referee apologised afterwards.

Learn the rules before being Internet Smart Guy. Not a good look.

@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 Ben's joking ...

@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 Snooker rules : "12. Nominated Ball....... If requested by the referee, the striker must declare which ball they are on." So why - if he hadn't heard - didn't ref ask? And why award 7. Not a good look kiddo.

@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 there are rules for a reason but there is sportsmanship that does trump rules. Because rules are only to interfere when sportsmanship is unclear.

@@TheMurderBird the ref was as corrupt as a higgins...

For being a cnut?

Best comment lol

@@paulr6881 Thanks, I'm not that good so that's how I play anyway. Bring them down to my level.

And wink at him every time.

@the thomascopgroup that wouldnt work mate. becouse then alex would stop playing to the crowd then show thorburn safety shots that he would find impossible to get out off plus how on earth did he manage to get that shot safe as that. alex was a master tactician of the game. Steve davis said alex was the greatest safety player hes ever played. Alex could get out of a snooker to then snooker you back only better. Time after time. Alex was much better than we saw? A player you didnt want to get rough with on the table or he would hammer you in every way the game is played. He just didnt win as much couse he played for the crowd and he did win alot and also got to alot of finals that he should have won. Alex is in another level to cliff

😂

Or coke. Hell no on my coke.

😁🍺

He was a coke addict!

Kevin Durham - I thought all the Canadians were quite partial to the odd line of Peruvian marching powder?! Lol. But no, you're right, it was only Kirk who had a massive problem with it..

same here

He acted like a big child. Thorburn mumbled in a low voice so neither the ref nor Higgins heard him.

@Kevin Durham Kirk got a lot of help from his fellow player John Virgo, who let him live with him in his house just south of London while he sorted himself out (I think it took about a year).

for those with black and white televisions, he hit the green

😂😂

Gold

@@mescellaneous 🤣🤣🤣

Nobody has a b&w tv anymore

Made me laugh 😂

Leeroy Brown 😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆

Leeroy Brown Classical Guitarist

Also a place in Gloucestershire lol

LMAO 😂

Or saw but didn't hear if you're the ref

r. i. in torment alex for this...

All the excitement nobody mentions who wins the match.

not rip-hopefully never rest the piece of scum that a higgins was-

​@@Apesedits the ref

he was playing thorburn you know!

Alex Higgins did nothing wrong. Thorburn knew the ref didn't hear it, as they always say the colour out loud when they hear it. It was only a 7 point foul, made no difference but Thorburn threw the match away because of it.

Alex simply didn't hear it. He was at the other end of the table. So was John Smyth. Thorburn needed to speak up a bit louder I think.

Absolutely right. Higgins could have stepped up there but he didn’t.

@@vantheman1238 If he didnt hear it, he didnt hear it. I didnt pick it up until my second time watching

Maybe he didn't hear green being called

He didn't only not admit it, you can hear Higgins make the point of telling the referee in the first few seconds he didn't hear it without even being asked. He could have just kept quiet and out of it while the referee decided.

@@mutinyonthekitkat It looks like the referee approached Higgins in his chair and asked if he heard Thorburn nominate and if he did not, then what else could he say? Saying you did not hear something just means you personally did not hear it, not necessarily that it did not happen and the referee had already made his decision by the time he asked Higgins while Thorburn left the arena.

@@seanscanlon9067 If the referee asked him first ok, but I got the impression he just said it without being asked.

moron

Ronnie would of known the ref didn't hear it, as the ref always repeats the nominated colour.

Ronnie would have laid the red out.

Yes ref repeats it nowadays-perhaps stemmed from this incident. Thought Alex was a bit of an arse there, but to be fair he was probably already hammered and his ears had stopped working.

​@@nuntana2 yes Alex's glasses of water were actually vodka , he was half pissed

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Are you sure about that Thorburn is right here?

Not sure about that - I was a massive Higgins fan back in the day, but I've changed since I've heard so many facts about his nasty behaviour.....

It's more than likely he didn't hear it but to say he was further away the Smythe is irrelevant, because people behind him in the crowd heard it.

Cheat, Bad sportsmanship

What does ted lowe say about cue extension "Alex's has gone wrong" or something

Alex replied you can’t use my cocaine.

So did I.

LMAO :-)

lol "YELLOWWWWWW !!!!"

He gave away foul after foul because he called it before playing any colour. He would have been a 15 times world champion were it not for this incident😭

Vile man

@@cbing4036 Nothing to do with Higgins, ref makes the decision, Thorburn petty fucker

Higgins might have been lying when he claimed not to have heard it. The ref appeared ready to change his ruling ... but Higgins’ statement stopped any change.

bartholomew9999 Can imagine Higgins was a sneaky calculating kind of man, always weighing up what was best for him on and off the table.

sad but true

Alex paid for his own drinks-Orange juice and water 💦 😂.

lol

@Have-a- Cigar maybe if he said, free bet

Or feck and arse......

Higgins heard him call «green», but wasn’t man enough to admit it.

Steve Edge - I agree Steve, I've noticed Smythe has come in for some harsh criticism by a few on here but I actually thought he was a decent referee back in the day..

I agree, Thorburn should of just laughed this off, as it was only 7 points and made no difference. He was in the wrong, as he needs to be sure the referee heard his nomination. Instead, he let it get to him and also fired up Alex Higgins, who didn't want to lose after that incident.

@@sharpvidtube Canadians arent the friendliest of people so he probably wouldnt have laughed it off. Anyway I heard him nominate and I had my volume pretty low so the ref was at fault & why was Higgins awarded 7 points. Even though it wasnt a foul the points awarded to higgins should have only been 4. Just as well the miss rule wasnt used back then or there could have been a fight at this rate.

I heard it the fist time 35 years ago and again just now

@@markgowans "Canadians arent the friendliest of people" I thought Canadians were famously friendly.

@Richard Jones A bit more than that in fact. I didn't notice it the first time I watched this video over a year ago, but I came back again, and noticed that Alex actively denied hearing Cliff nominate the green - *even though he wasn't asked.* This happened immediately after the audience "corrected" John Smyth...you can hear (I _think)_ Higgins seem to butt his nose in (rudely) and dispute Thorburn's word. I don't know what Cliff said since that time, but of course we can't get Alex's side of the story now. If Alex did "intervene" of his own volition, I think that he was completely out of order for doing so.

yes it is clear that higgins the "peoples champion" who must have heard thorburn state green, was an absolute horrible person...

He wasn't my champion I liked Jimmy White, balls to Higgins!

They did once back in 1989 and the match lasted until 2007. During the 4th frame Cliff Thornburn had to shave no less than 36 times and Peter Ebdon went on holiday to Jamaica for 3 weeks.

KBEES MOT It would still be going on.

KBEES MOT We had Thorburn v Terry Griffiths. I promise you,, that was bad enough

norman rossall haha 😂

Tag team between Cliff Thorburn and Peter Ebdon Vrs Terry Griffiths and Willie Thorne...that would be a headbanger.

The standard was nowhere near as good as even the 90s. How do you mean great players?

The only thing that’s “cringe” here is a person who uses the word “cringe” and bangs on about how something is the funniest thing they’ve ever seen etc.

No, it works perfectly fine. I'm just saving the batteries.

Is this a piece of your brain?

You can't be serious? Ted Lowe had zero insight into the game and offered nothing other than just stating the obvious. Today's commentators are light years ahead.

@@tomdavies6368 It's probably not the commentator that he misses. A lot of the sounds of the match at the table are drowned out by the incessant commentary. It gives and takes. When I was learning the game it was invaluable to hear the former pros explain the positioning; now I'd prefer to think the game through myself and hear the sound at the table and only hear the old pro when there's less obvious decisions to be made. The sport needs new fans of course.

Martyn H Thorburn was mostly at fault here, firstly for mumbling his nominated ball, secondly for not waiting for confirmation from the referee before he played the shot. If Higgins had been a gentleman and a good sport he would have said "I didn't hear your nomination, but if you say you nominated the green, I accept that" and then left it with the referee, but Higgins was neither a good sport or a gentleman, so Thorburn's last mistake was to act like a petulant child, he should have put his shoulders back and got on with the game.

jonsmith20766 In hindsight, relooking at this you make some good points. The childishness is certainly a negative in such a gentlemen’s sport.

I say, good one Master Bates !

:D

How could he hear it if he's colour blind? Makes no sense.

Carrot Nose be jsssss oy tink yer moyt be royt!

@@thenaturalsourceofourhealth I say, another maaasterpiece of a reply Maaaaster Bates.

Can you imagine BB as the ref!

I will check that out cheers!

As an Alex fan even I have to admit he could be a complete arshole off the table but whatever you do, do not take that film seriously, much of it has been invented to make it entertaining, Alex never spoke to Steve or Cliff in the way he did in the film, it put Alex in a very bad light.

@@ZEUSDAZ What was entertaining,but not condonable(is that a word?),is when Alex peed in the pot plant😂

This was not on very late at night. The incident happened earlier on in the afternoon on the live coverage. David vine comes on with it again on the late night highlights programme.

Ysgol You stupid brainless pathetic Bellend. ... how did Higgins cheat...you idiot. ... Higgins didn't hear Thorburn say anything. ..... Higgins didn't say that Thorburn never said anything. .... you are so stupid like the rest of your pathetic family. Thank you.

@@robertosalazar6867 You're a very ignorant person aren't you. CALM DOWN. Verbally attacking and insulting someone because you don't agree with them completely destroys any valid argument you may have.

Delboy 359 F*** Off

@ Not very intelligent are you. You've proven my point. And if you're going to tell me to fuck off at least have the courage to type it in full.

Sorry ysgol but you're just being pedantic here, in conversational speech like this they mean the same thing.

I agree

If John Smyth would've done that, he could have ended up being disciplined by the WPBSA for conspiracy to unduly assist a player. The only thing a referee is supposed to do, is feed back the nomination that they *heard* the player make. I think they already have hard enough of a job, and this was back when there was no such thing as a 'miss' rule - which I find to be incredibly insulting to the integrity of an honest sportsman's conduct, as well as catalyse potential corruption within the sport. I must've been out that day, because I certainly would've remembered seeing it and feeling sorry for everyone involved here (each for their own reasons). Simple human error - that's what I think this whole thing really was.

@@letsdiscussitoversometea8479 more like deaf ref, and drunken cheat. But hey, whatever floats your boat...

but in his defence Alex was always a total chancer...

@@dharmabam I live 5 miles away from where AH grew up, have actually met him and that's putting it nicely!

I hate it when games of any sort are ruined by bad refereeing decisions that were aviodable.

@@Gazzoid What does that have to do with the ref not listening properly? Fuck all!

@Al Imspartacus2 If he mumbled it how do you know he said it at all? He didn't mumble, you can hear if you listen properly. The commentators heard it which is why they where surprised the ref said he didn't.

2:37 - just to argue (umm wrong word but I hope you get my drift) your point that snooker players pride themselves on their honesty. Alex says "He didn't say anything. I was watching him. So I'd have heard him.") - even after the fact, when the ref wouldn't have overturned the decision - Alex [[bareface lies]]

BluSpykz )j

BluSpykz ‘

@@BluSpykz Saying you didn't hear someone say something isn't the same as saying they didn't say something. Thorburn definitely called green but it wasn't very loud and he said one word, as in "green" only as opposed to say for example "green ball" or "I'm playing the green" and so that was far less likely to be picked up rather than a few words. There was also close to a full minute from potting the red to hitting the green and whilst Higgins probably was looking at Thorburn for some of that time, he probably wasn't for all of it. It also maybe didn't help that Thorburn has a moustache, which can cover lip movements too.

Legend has it that Higgins took him down with a giant Chester Backster and finished him off with a sumptuous beef stew.

@@tilonrei We all know Higgins lied - I wasn't defending him - as great as he was at snooker, it can not be denied that he was one of the most underhanded and unstable personality's the game has had. I was just recalling a childhood memory - I should have said that I felt for Thorburn at the time and I actually preferred Thorburn as a player and a person. I apologise if my comment offended - that wasn't my intention.

Yes indeed, That extension would have done a disappearing act up the referee's jacksie.

Cliff punched Alex once in a bar after he insulted his wife ..

@@opencurtin That never happened in real life, it was included in the tv drama called "The Rack Pack" for entertainment purpouses.

It wasn't a handshake, Thorburn belted one towards referee but instead hit Alex square in the nose. They all wound up, the three of them, in a bar piss drunk. The referee was caught shanking a barmaid on the bar pool table!

same here , only on replay did i hear it .

dominicrusho if Cliff Thorburn goes AWOL you're up slack alley, now who's it to be, me or Cliff Thorburn.

mccann Thank you very much indeed. Kiss my face!

Lovely stuff

Ye, but he's not under a cow

Cliff thorburn was a great multiple Canadian snooker champ, and a successful professional player

Which tournament was that? He won the world championship that year of course (against Higgins), and achieved a 147 in the 1983 world championship against Terry Griffiths... Are you sure you've not written something down erroneously?

Indeed yes, for some obscure reason i typed the incorrect date, I actually know it was 1983.@@letsdiscussitoversometea8479

I agree i was watching babestation at the time and heard green

I was watching babe station.....i thought he said brown or pink 😊

Makes no difference, as the referee needs to hear it. The referee always repeats the colour when they hear it. Thorburn knew that, so he was being childish here. Worked well for Alex Higgins, as Thorburn let the incident get to him and lost the match.

@@sharpvidtube I agree with you... However, had Alex said "Yes Ref, he said 'Green' ." I think the Ref would have rescinded his decision: He looked almost pleadingly at Alex....but Alex claimed he didn't hear anything either. Mmm.

​@@patagualianmostly7437 Quite possible that the TV microphone picked up Thorburn's voice, but Alex Higgins didn't hear it didn't hear it, the same as the referee. Those microphones can be very sensitive, and they can turn the sound up.

boring, thorburn should've waited until hurricane higgins was at the table and smashed his cue extension repeatedly against the back of his knees.

what nonsense-the referee and higgins were corrupt liars...

John Duncan he probably hit the blue then.😀

Alex should have picked up and then set down the black ball to relevel the score. Higgins and sportsmanship aren't two words I see going together very well.

I'm from Burnley (Harle Syke) but now live in Monaco and I heard it from here.

@@MonteCarloGaz I'm in Florida and I heard him both times.

UTC

Don’t know what’s worse, being in Burnley or cheating

@@sh4rpyvwr324 ever been, no shut the fuck up, you need England Scotland is like a disabled inlaw, can't stand on its own 2 feet and always want an handout

He brought the red Ferrari after this: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hqtgocJozsW6fHk.html

Who won the match?

kevin brookes Higgins 9-7

And the biggest crowd puller ever in the game.

How do you know that he had heard it? I think you are waffling.

Wise up - Higgins was at the same end of the table as the ref who also didn't hear it! Thorburn behaved like a child and funnily enough, Higgins tanked him without the extension! Alex made a few mistakes like many others have, but he made the game what it is today and remains the most popular player ever.

We don't know that he heard it but quote from Alex (2:37) - "I was watching - I would've heard him. He did NOT say anything. So unless Cliff is a ventriloquist as well as a snooker player; there is a lie there.

David O'Mahony yup he was all that but also the most exciting genius of a player who inspired the young generation along with jimmy white and catapulted snooker out the boring pipe smoking cojers era. We all wanted to be Alex Higgins as young , no one wanted to be cliff thorburn or Rex Williams 😂👍

Because those at home heard it from the TV microphones and I doubt everyone in the audience did and only those nearest to Thorburn, which would not have included Higgins.

Logically, Thorburn should of made sure the referee heard him before playing the shot, like very other snooker player does. This was Thorburn's fault, not the referee.

@Kevin Durham what about rex williams

Yeah, a lot going on here. I feel Alex should've backed Thorburn even if he didn't hear him, since he ended up implying that Cliff was lying or cheating, and to the best of my knowledge Thorburn always played fairly. I think the score did come into Alex's reckoning that he wanted Cliff to argue with the referee on the off-chance it would unsettle him. It's one of those situations where 'doing nothing' is doing something. But some of the referees were pretty old school in the '80s. Even if Alex and the audience had all said they heard Thorburn nominate, I'm not sure the ref would've reversed his decision. The 'ref's decision is final' was taken to extremes. Maybe partly why Alex didn't get involved - but I think he had an eye on the score too.

@Callum Robertson Thats a very leading statement. No, I think he should have respected Cliffs professionalism to be honest, and know that if Cliff said he nominated, then he nominated. End of. Had he been 8 - 5 up, I think Alex would have. But at a cagey stage of the match, I think it played a part in him saying he didnt hear. I was a higgins fan, and not a thorburn fan, but 35 years on, I think Alex should have just said, y know what, its 7pts. Does it really matter. The game of snooker matters more.

😀😀

I bet they still watch black and white in yorkshire

Maybe he said "grey".

For those watching in black and white, the pink is next to the green.

@@petersothern2909 In Yorkshire, life is in black and white.

Yes he did, he was refused so he just used the end of his cue to batter Clif over the head with! 👀

John Thomas 😀😀