For the one player out of 48 that don't know the rules
1.16.1 CUE BALL FOULS ONLY.
Let's parse this by breaking it up into section:
When a referee is presiding over a match, it is a foul for a player to touch any ball (cue ball or object ball) with the cue, clothing, body, mechanical bridge or chalk, before, during or after a shot.
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Okay, so clearly if a referee was watching, your opponents actions were a foul. Note that this section specifically refers to "before" a shot.
However, when a referee is not presiding over a game, it is not a foul to accidentally touch stationary balls located between the cue ball and the shooter while in the act of shooting.
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This refers only to "while in the act of shooting." The question then is, was the ball touched while in the act of shooting? If, say, your opponent had gotten into his stance and was taking warm up strokes then I would say yes, and no foul was committed. On the other hand we can't stretch this language too far. If your opponent was at the table mapping his position route, for instance and not yet in his stance, then no, this section is inapplicable.
If such an accident occurs [NOTE: therefore this still refers to "while in the act of shooting"] the player should allow the Tournament Director to restore the object balls to their correct positions. If the player does not allow such a restoration, and a ball set in motion as a normal part of the shot touches such an unrestored ball, or passes partly into a region originally occupied by a disturbed ball, the shot is a foul. In short, if the accident has any effect on the outcome of the shot, it is a foul.
:idea2: Maybe you should have the rules printed out so all the players and tournament directors know the rules instead of shooting off the hip making a call depending on who you are calling them on.:scratchhead:
