Mark Allen was at his cheeky best today on Crucible Eve as he posted a picture of himself at the famous arena wearing a football shirt – even though they are banned.

This year’s Masters winner shared the mischievous image of him wearing his beloved Northern Ireland shirt on his Instagram page.

Allen, who beat Kyren Wilson in the Masters final back in January, will face Liam Highfield in the first round knowing victory could mean a second round match against defending world champion Mark Selby should he defeat Joe Perry.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhyj84QAjN7/

At time of writing Allen’s Instagram post had more than 800 likes.

World Snooker announced last week that football shirts and other sporting gear at the arena during the tournament would not be allowed – a move that proved to be rather controversial and was described by one fan as a disgrace.