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The issue of fans whistling at darts players reared its head once more as Mike De Decker fell foul of unruly crowd behaviour during his defeat to Luke Littler at the Grand Slam of Darts.
De Decker called for the referee to address the Wolverhampton crowd after audible whistles were directed towards him whenever he threw a double in his last-16 match against teenage sensation Littler, but his request was ignored.
Despite being one leg from victory, the World Grand Prix champion eventually succumbed to a sensational Littler fightback as the 17-year-old progressed to the quarter-finals courtesy of a 10-9 win.
Raising his concerns over the officials’ inaction after the match, De Decker told Viaplay: “Why is he there then? He’s the referee!”
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Was this the break that lead Luke Littler to beat Mike De Decker?
Sky Sports Darts reporter Abigail Davies took to social media to call for an immediate end to the behaviour she says is blighting the sport.
“Whistling at darts tournaments has to be stopped, surely they can’t profess to be real darts fans?” she wrote on X.
“The comeback from Littler was spectacular but I genuinely feel for De Decker. Sick of it being a blight on our sport.
“Cheer for your favourite but don’t actively put someone off.”
Match referee Kirk Bevins echoed the sentiment, replying on X: “Hear hear.
“The crowd just get worse when referees address the crowd. John McDonald even addressed the crowd in the break once regarding this and they got worse.
“If you see someone whistling, report it to security and get them kicked out.”
Littler: Crowd were on De Decker’s back
The partisan crowd were always going to be behind Littler but even he detected a change as the match developed.
“A few times they were singing there is only one Luke Littler,” he said. “I just couldn’t find what they wanted, I couldn’t find that two, three-treble visit.
“But at 9-7, I just thought to myself, ‘you have got nothing to lose’, so try and get back at him and I got one back, and the crowd obviously they were on his back even worse. Then I just took full advantage.”
‘Harsh reality of current darts climate’
Sky Sports’ Megan Wellens in Wolverhampton:
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Michael Smith and Luke Humphries were both clearly angered by repeated whistling during their betMGM Premier League matches against Luke Littler in Cardiff.
“Whistling isn’t something new in this sport and is something that is more likely to happen in the bigger tournaments.
“We have seen Michael Smith and Luke Humphries fume during their Premier League matches against Luke Littler in Cardiff, while Littler himself had to deal with the crowd in Aberdeen.
“During Littler’s match against De Decker, the crowd started to whistle when the World Grand Prix champion was going for crucial doubles.
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Luke Littler was jeered by the Leeds crowd before his quarter-final match against Peter Wright on Night 15 of the Premier League.
“Players have said for a long time it is off-putting but it is difficult to control a crowd – it is something we see in football when a player takes a penalty.
“It is a topic of conversation that will continue on but at this time of the year, lots of players are going to have to deal with it.”
How social media reacted…
What’s next?
Friday at the Grand Slam of Darts sees the first of two quarter-finals as Mickey Mansell takes on Cameron Menzies and Martin Lukeman faces Rob Cross. You can watch live on Sky Sports from 7pm.
Live Grand Slam of Darts
Friday 15th November 7:00pm
