snooker question

[Kavall]

I was playing in a match and was streching to play the shot as the white was near the blue spot and the object ball near the yellow spot.As i went down on the shot there was a ball under my waistcoat and could not play the shot.As i prefer not to play with the rest where possible i asked the referee if i could get the waistcoat off for this shot only and the referee said i could.After the match some players were commenting that the referee made a mistake and i was not allowed to take the waistcoat off,not even for 1 shot ,their argument being that in the rules it is stated that you should play with the waistcoat.

Can any one confirm who was right?.thanks

[DawRef]

There is nothing in the Official Rules that you must wear a waistcoat to play snooker. However, Tournament Rules may state that a player must wear a waistcoat at all times during his (her) match.
In tournaments, referees are under the guidance of the Tournament Referee. If he ststes that players, during their match, MUST wear a waistcoat, then the referee in your match was wrong to allow you to remove it.
Could you have tucked it in (like I've seen pros do on TV)? That way, you would not have incurred the comments of the other players.