Kurt Maflin was warned for giving the cue ball the middle finger when a 147 attempt broke down during his victory over David Gilbert at snooker's World Championship.
The obscene gesture game in the 16th frame after he'd run out of position on the penultimate red with his break on 105, meaning he missed out on becoming the 11th player to score a Crucible maximum - and first since 2012 - as well as a prize of £40,000.
Norwegian star Maflin, who lives in Oslo but was born in Southwark, was warned by the referee Tatiana Woollaston but composed himself to beat the world number 12 in a thriller 10-8.
The 36-year-old managed four of a record six centuries for a first-round match, including his best of 124 compared to Gilbert's 131, and later explained his actions that went viral on social media.
He said: "I’ve never done anything like that before - I just felt like I worked really hard to get into that position, and the pot was hard enough on 104.
“I don’t know what happened, but it was just one of those reactions where I thought for f**k sake!
“I thought the referee was telling me to tuck my shirt in or something, but she said she was going to have to warn me for my gesture!
“There was no offence to anyone apart from the cueball! That was just fun and I didn’t mean anything by it.”
World Snooker confirmed that Maflin would not face any further punishment beyond the referee's warning, while Eurosport commentator Dominic Dale apologised to viewers for any offence.
It was the world number 43's first ever victory at the Crucible having only qualified once before back in 2015 when losing 10-9 to Mark Selby and he'll now meet four-time champion John Higgins, who finished runner-up in the last three seasons.
Maflin hopes his run could help increase snooker's profile Scandinavia, where it's far from a mainstream sport.
He said: "Snooker’s got bigger over the last ten years, but obviously it’s still on a really small scale.
"I’m hoping this kind of thing can help - Norway has every tournament on Eurosport’s out there, so hopefully some of the younger kids can start not just going on skis, but getting their cues out too! I just want to say a massive thanks to my family - my wife, my children but also everyone in Norway.
"I’ve got a lot of engagement in Twitter messages, normal messages and they love it in Norway and they support me a lot, so I really appreciate that, so thank you.
"You’re not really going to get much tougher than John - he’s definitely in the top three or four players of all-time, so it’s just going to be really enjoyable to play him.
"I hope I get off to a good start and let him know that I’ve come to play - I’d say the pressure’s pretty much off.
"I feel like if I play my game then I can beat anyone on my day, so there’s no pressure.”
Live snooker returns to Eurosport and the Eurosport app. Watch the World Championship from 31st July -16th August with analysis from Jimmy White.
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