Stop the presses, a confusing rule in pool.
I'll tell you what.... somebody, anybody.... make some good arguments that aren't totally rebuffed by "stop being a little girl" against the fact that we should just play foul on all balls. One decent argument. It can't happen. If your argument is "we don't want a huge game decided by a guy touching a ball", well then believe me, the players will learn real quick how to not touch balls after they have been bitten, and that'll be over in no time. If your argument is "what about all the bangers who touch balls all the time?".... really?
And let's take a look at this aspect; what will the rule book look like.... the ultimate in wordiness and confusion -- "it is a foul if a player contacts any ball on an active playing surface". Done. lol.
We as pool players, should know more than anybody that once a ball is touched/moved, it can never be put back to exact location, and this can and will have huge potential impacts on the game in question. To deny this makes us look less than competent imo, and the rule as it is makes us look as if we don't respect the game (ie the game IS the layout of the balls). I think the logic behind the rule that it is not a foul to touch a ball is based in the fact that moving a ball slightly will not be an advantage to one player over the other necessarily. While that is true for the most part, I don't really understand why it isn't punished when somebody drastically alters the course of a game. A foul on all balls rule would not really be an advantage to any one player anyway, in the same way, so that is a knock on that aspect anyway.
Golfers do seem to have this down. If a guy accidentally kicks his golf ball, its over. There is no "let's put it back guys, it'll be the same". I am sorry, but it is just absurd, it really is.
And why the preferential treatment to the CB??? Can't one argue that the placement of certain ob are actually more important during the course of a game? Of course you can. The object ball vs cb thing is just totally weird in itself.
Lastly, why wouldn't we want to punish players for not having control of their hands? Note: when was the last time you saw efren touch a ball?
It is another case of not getting strict with the rules from the get go, and having to forever live with the ambiguities.
To the op, this is a foul all day. It is actually a very clear case as you have the proof just sitting there for all to see, no arguing if it touched or not.
So, what if the guy would have grabbed the ob before it froze to the other ob? I take it that is a foul too? I know it should be but wondered if it is covered in our rules.