Originally Posted by Terry Davidson
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14. Foul and a Miss
(a) The striker shall, to the best of his ability, endeavour to hit the ball on or a
ball that could be on after a Red has been potted. If the referee considers the Rule infringed, he shall call FOUL AND A MISS unless:
(i) any player needed penalty points before, or as a result of, the stroke
being played;
(ii) before or after the stroke, the points available on the table are equal to the points difference excluding the value of the re-spotted black; and the referee is satisfied that the miss was not intentional.
(iii) a situation exists where it is impossible to hit the ball on.
In the latter case it must be assumed the striker is attempting to hit the ball on provided that he plays, directly or indirectly, at the ball on with sufficient strength, in the referee‟s opinion, to have reached the ball on but for the obstructing ball or balls.
Since there is nothing specifically in the rules to say he can answer this question then he cannot, per s5:
SECTION 5 THE OFFICIALS
1. The Referee
(a) The referee shall:
(i) be the sole judge of fair and unfair play;
(ii) be free to make a decision in the interests of fair play for any situation not covered adequately by these Rules;
(iii) be responsible for the proper conduct of the game under these Rules;
(iv) intervene if he sees any infringement of these Rules;
(v) tell a player the colour of a ball if requested; and
(vi) clean any ball upon reasonable request by a player.
(b) The referee shall not:
(i) answer any question not authorised in these Rules;
(ii) give any indication that a player is about to make a foul stroke;
(iii) give any advice or opinion on points affecting play; nor
(iv) answer any question regarding the difference in scores.
(c) If the referee has failed to notice any incident, he may at his discretion take the evidence of the marker or other officials or spectators best placed for the observation or may view a camera/video recording of the incident to assist his decision.
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