So as a ref you would stand in front of the player just because he was using a bridge. Your not calling a close hit. If you think it might come back and hit the players tip. Seems side view would be the best. Also you said Shane felt the contact. Therefore calling him a cheater.
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I said that a ref should stand in the best possible place to watch the shot develop. Standing behind the player is usually not where you can see or call a close hit. Now, if a player was shooting over an object ball and could foul that ball after hitting the cue ball, I might stand behind him, just to the side.
As for the shot in question, nobody else could tell what happened on that shot any better than Shane. If there had been even the slightest of contacts with the cue ball by the tip of his cue, he is the only one who could have really known it. You can draw your own conclusions from that. I like Shane and he is a credit to the game, but he is no choir boy!