Speaking on BBC Two, seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry called for the German official to end the stalemate much earlier.
"The referee's got to get involved here, in my opinion. This is the dark side of snooker," he said.
"It's been a horrendous frame but it's helped Wu Yize so much. He didn't look like winning another frame, but the ludicrous nature of this has just helped to lighten the load on him and free him up, forget what was happening to him in this session."
Kyren Wilson, the 2024 champion, added: "I think Marcel Eckardt should've called that a lot earlier.
"That game was going nowhere, quite painful, but the fight and determination from Mark Allen is still incredible."