MARK ALLEN could be hauled before snooker chiefs – but not because he blasted boss Barry Hearn.

The Irishman caused the sensation of the williamhill.com UK Championship when he said the World Snooker chairman should resign over his tinkering with the game.

But it was his swearing in the press conference following his 6-3 win over Adrian Gunnell, when talking about Hearn, that has landed him in hot water rather than his criticism.

A World Snooker statement said: “Following Mark Allen’s use of inappropriate language in his press conference at the UK Championship, he has been referred to the WPBSA’s disciplinary committee as he is in breach of tournament rules and could be charged with bringing the game into disrepute.

“World Snooker’s governing body, the WPBSA, expects its members to behave in a manner which is appropriate to their status as professional sportsmen.

“At a time when our sport is growing fast on a global scale and we are encouraging greater participation among young people, we expect players to be role models and take the issue of their behaviour very seriously.

“World Snooker will make no further comment until after the disciplinary hearing.”

Allen criticised the move to alter the format of the UK from best-of-17 to best-of-11 frames, saying: “The tradition of the game is going to pot. What is the answer? Get rid of Barry.”

A number of top players have since lined up to support Hearn, including Stephen Lee, Ricky Walden and, the highest profile, world number two Mark Williams.

“I am totally the opposite,” the Welshman said. “I think Hearn has done unbelievably since he came in. We should just let him get on with it.

“I’n not going to sit here and say it’s great playing best-of-11s. It’s not, I’d rather play best-of-17 but things have got to change.”