Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan admitted he felt 'awful' after reaching the semi-finals of the English Open in controversial circumstances with victory over China's Luo Honghao. O'Sullivan recovered from 3-2 down to win 5-3 at the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley, but not without enjoying a vital stroke of luck when a foul he accidentally committed in the sixth frame went unnoticed. Luo had said he was hoping to at least pot one ball against his idol and that was all the 18-year-old left-hander managed in the opening frame before missing a long blue. O'Sullivan then made the 957th century of his career with a clearance of 118. Ronnie O'Sullivan (pictured) beat China's Luo Honghao 5-3 in the English Open on Friday A break of 90 took O'Sullivan 2-0 in front but Luo fought back superbly in his first ranking event quarter-final with breaks of 90, 67 and a total clearance of 136 - which he completed by knocking in the black right-handed - to take a 3-2 lead. O'Sullivan drew level with a contribution of 73 in the next frame, but only after a foul early in the break went unnoticed, neither O'Sullivan or referee Tatiana Woollaston noticing the five-time world champion brushed a red with his cue after potting a different red with the rest. Even after the match it took being shown several television replays during an interview with Eurosport before O'Sullivan realised what had happened. 'Oh no, oh s***,' the 42-year-old said. 'I didn't even see that in a million years. I'm happy to go play the match again if they want to. I feel awful after you showed me that.' Told that TV commentator Dave Hendon was the only one who initially noticed, O'Sullivan added: 'I wish Dave Hendon would have said something and stopped the match, that's what they should do. I've done it in commentary before.' O'Sullivan won the seventh frame with a break of 82 after Luo had been first in with 56 and sealed victory in the next frame to set up a semi-final against Mark Davis, who had earlier beaten Ryan Day 5-1. Davis, 46, has yet to reach the final of a ranking event but looked in superb form with breaks of 66, 95 and 92 helping him to a comfortable win over Welshman Day, who had to change a damaged tip during the interval. The other semi-final will see Stephen Maguire take on former world champion Stuart Bingham after Bingham beat Ali Carter 5-2 with the aid of a break of 138 and Maguire overcame Noppon Saengkham 5-3.<doc-sep>RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has offered to replay his controversial English Open win over Chinese teenager Luo Honghao after benefiting from an unseen foul. The five-time world champion last night beat World No105 Luo 5-3 to reach the semi-finals in Crawley. 6 Ronnie O'Sullivan was stunned to see his missed foul Credit: Eurosport Yet in the key sixth frame – with the defending champion trailing 3-2 – the Rocket accidentally caught another red with his cue as he pulled back the cue and rest to avoid touching the white. O’Sullivan, who has a reputation for displays of honesty during matches, did not call the foul and it was not seen by the referee. The 42-year-old was branded a “cheat” on social media but he refuted those accusations on Eurosport. When told about it afterwards, he replied: “Oh, s***! I didn’t even see that in a million years. I’m devastated. 6 Ronnie used the rest for a shot in the sixth frame Credit: Eurosport 6 Without realising the Rocket knocked a red ball with the rest Credit: Eurosport 6 The foul was missed by the referee and the two players Credit: Eurosport “When you use the rest you don’t feel it. You would with a cue. I’m looking where the white is going. I’m not looking at the rest. “I’d happily play another best-of-nine game. If that keeps everyone happy, I’d do it. I’m not a mercenary. I enjoy competing. But I want to win in the right manner. “There’s nothing you can do about social media, let them have their opinion. 99 per cent of snooker fans have watched my career over the past 26 years and know I have owned up to a foul when it hasn’t even been one. latest sport news CRYING BRU Fernandes breaks down in tears as Scholes slams Utd stars who 'accept losing' Revealed FLOP GEA De Gea let in 38th CONSECUTIVE penalty before missing own spot-kick in shootout Live Blog MAN UTD 1 (10) VILLARREAL 1 (11) Penalties heartbreak for United as De Gea misses in epic Exclusive THREE-PEAT De Bruyne has been nursing THREE injuries in build-up to Champions League final MAN UTD VERDICT Solskjaer blew chance to end trophy drought & it won't get easier than this Live Blog FOOTBALL NEWS LIVE Zidane QUITS Real Madrid, Antonio Conte leaves Inter Milan “People will say stuff but what can you do? It was a freak thing that no-one noticed.” Luo claims he didn’t see the foul and refused the chance to replay the game. He said: “It’s gone now. It’s not important anymore.” The talented 18-year-old, a 500-1 tournament outsider at the start of the week, only turned pro this year. 6 Ronnie O'Sullivan offered to replay his victory Credit: Getty - Contributor 6 Only a TV replay inside the studio, after the win, revealed the foul Credit: Eurosport But he is quickly developing a name for himself as the ‘Beethoven of the Baize’ given he ditched a promising future playing the piano for the snooker cue. O’Sullivan said: “This kid will be mental in 2-3 years. He must have a serious brain up there because he’s almost a master on the piano. “I told him at the end he is special, a great talent and will be a world champion one day.”<doc-sep>Snooker is known as a sport played by gentlemen and the post-match admission of error from Ronnie O’Sullivan at the English open last night reaffirmed that idea. ‘The Rocket’ had just fended off the challenge of the precocious Chinese cueman Luo Honghao 5-3 in the quarter-final of the competition in Crawley when he was invited in to have a word with the media team of the broadcasters, Eurosport. They went on to unveil to him a foul he’d committed during the game. It happened during the crucial sixth frame of the best of nine encounter. He trailed his young opponent 3-2 in that one but rallied to level with a break of 73, during which he fouled a red ball while playing a shot with the rest. The indiscretion went unnoticed by both players and the referee and the world number three went on to win the frame and two more consecutively. “Oh no...oh s***! I'll play the match again,” said the Essex man after he was shown a replay. "I didn't even see that in a million years," he added. "Wow, wow, wow! I feel awful after you showed me that. “I wish someone would have said something and stopped the match - that's what they should do." His fellow snooker players, including Neil Robertson and Matthew Selt, took to social media to back O’Sullivan’s claims that he didn’t notice the foul. He now moves on to face Mark Davis in the semi-finals of the competition tonight.<doc-sep>
Last updated on .From the section Snooker O'Sullivan beat Kyren Wilson 9-2 in last year's English Open final Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan said he felt "awful" after he overcame talented Chinese teenager Luo Honghao 5-3 to reach the semi-finals of the English Open in controversial circumstances. O'Sullivan went 2-0 up after runs of 118 and 90 but 18-year-old left-hander Luo won three in succession, taking the lead with a superb break of 136. However the five-time world champion, 42, enjoyed some luck when a foul he accidentally committed in the sixth frame went unnoticed. He brushed a red with his cue after potting a different red with the rest. After the match O'Sullivan realised what had happened when showed a TV replay. "I didn't even see that in a million years," he said. "I'm happy to go play the match again if they want to. I feel awful after you showed me that. "I wish someone would have said something and stopped the match - that's what they should do." O'Sullivan's win secured a semi-final against Mark Davis, who beat Ryan Day 5-1. Stuart Bingham will play Stephen Maguire in the other semi-final. O'Sullivan capitalised on his young opponent's early nerves to go ahead with his 957th career century break but Luo went 3-2 up with a superb century clearance of his own, nonchalantly knocking in the final black right-handed. After 43 minutes without potting a ball, O'Sullivan levelled at 3-3 with a 73 when his inadvertent brush with the red was not detected. In the next, Luo, who chose snooker over a potential career as a concert pianist, rattled in a 56 all with reds and blacks but missed a red with the rest and O'Sullivan moved ahead again with a masterful 82. A run of 41 was enough to take O'Sullivan through but he told Eurosport: "I can't believe I won that match - I was so much the second best. This is his first year on tour. If that's what he's like now, what's he going to be like in two or three years? He's going to be the best." In the other matches Bingham made a 138 in the opening frame to beat Ali Carter, while 46-year-old Davis, yet to win a ranking event, reached his sixth semi-final and Maguire made a century en route to a 5-3 win over Thailand's Noppon Saengkham. Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news and reports on the BBC app.