By Elliott West
“It was by chance that I started refereeing”
Jan Verhaas
Introduction
One of the finest referees that has ever graced the snooker stage is the Dutch referee, Jan Verhaas. Jan, born in 1966 in Maassluis, originally worked as a process operator for Shell Chemicals but often helped out at a friend’s snooker club in Rotterdam. Spotted by referee Michael Clarke, Clarke advised and encouraged Jan to become a professional referee. A process that he embarked on and completed in 1990 when he became a class 1 referee.
The Rise to the Top
After three years getting accustomed to his new environment, Verhaas refereed his first professional match in 1993, an encounter between Tony Drago and Steve Davis. A match that put him in good stead and gave him the grounding to to be recognised for World final status. He didn’t have to wait long because in 2003, Jan was given the nod and became the first individual outside of the United Kingdom to referee a World Championship final.This was of course the 2006 clash between Peter Ebdon and Graeme Dott.
Verhaas went on to referee all three of the Paul Hunter Masters’ finals, describing them as his “most memorable matches” and was witness to Ronnie O’Sullivan completing his tenth maximum break at the 2010 World Open. Verhaas had to persuade Ronnie to pot the black after O’Sullivan questioned him about the highest break prize and was disgruntled when he was given the response that no prize existed. An outcome that Ronnie wanted to protest against by shaking his opponent’s hand, Mark King after potting the last pink. He was also witness to when Ronnie walked out of his UK Championship quarter- final match against Stephen Hendry in 2006.
Jan has always acted impeccably when playing the part of a referee, immaculately dressed and someone you would never cross because of his menacing stature. Many flies, moths and the odd wasp have been at the receiving end of his swatting, white gloves and always ended worse for wear and he has had to eject the odd rowdy audience member, most memorably someone who was heckling Ding Junhui at his 2007 meeting with Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Masters.
Jan Verhaas has also been a pool referee, especially nine ball and was involved in the Mosconi Cup on several occasions. He was also a board member of the WPBSA from 2016-2019, having responsibility for implementing the new rule book for snooker and billiards and adjudicating referees. Sadly Verhaas lost his place on the board in 2019 but still plays a key part in most tournaments.
Conclusion
Jan is definitely one of the finest referees snooker has ever seen, a man who has always striven to be the best at what he does, following in the footsteps of others such as Len Ganley and John Street. Verhaas has overseen four World Championship finals, six Masters finals and many others. When not donning his white gloves, he likes nothing better to play or watch darts or watch tennis and is a keen follower of most sports. He now lives in Hellevoetsluis, Netherlands with his wife from Belarus, Alena Skarbahataya.
His Finals
World Championship, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2017
UK Championship : 2005, 2006, 2008, 2015
Masters : 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2019
Grand Prix : 2004, 2007, 2009
German Masters : 2011
China Open : 2012
International Championship : 2014
