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WORLD CHAMPION LUKE Littler says there is no place for whistling in darts, but does not think a player will ever walk off stage because of it.
Littler’s Premier League win in Glasgow last week was marred by the crowd whistling when Littler’s opponents were at the oche throwing crucial darts, with Rob Cross and Luke Humphries affected.
The 18-year-old went on to claim his first victory of the season and goes for more glory in Dublin on Thursday, starting with a quarter-final against Gerwyn Price.
The Welshman has famously taken matters into his own hands when dealing with an unsporting crowd, donning ear defenders in the 2023 World Championship to drown out boos, while also whistling back at the crowd last week in Scotland.
But asked whether a player could walk off, Littler said: “Well for us players, probably not. Obviously, I wouldn’t want it to happen to anyone.
“If that was the worst case then I’m sure a player, I don’t know, has he got the right to walk off stage? Maybe, or maybe not.
“If a player does walk off stage, then I’m sure the security, they’ve got to do their job and obviously kick whoever’s doing the whistling out. Just kick them out. And then I’m sure as players, we can get on with it.
“Obviously it’s not a good thing for any fans to be whistling, whether it’s me or my opponent.
“For example, last week Rob Cross when he missed two at double 18, they whistled, he missed. You can say it was the crowd’s fault that he missed those doubles because you never see Rob Cross miss double 18.
“We’ve just got to get on with our job. And if the fans are whistling against our opponents then it’ll certainly help us.”
Price is one of the few players with a winning record over Littler, having won the last four meetings.
But Littler says there is no hoodoo.
“I wouldn’t say he is the bogeyman. Obviously he played out of his skin in Bahrain. I couldn’t do much against him really,” Littler said.
“Obviously he’s played brilliant against me, near enough every time. For myself, I’ve just got to make sure tomorrow night I win that first game and go and get myself some more points on the board.”
Written by Press Association and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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This country really has turned into a Slum.
Why am I not surprised it’s beyond a joke at this stage
@Kenny Jones: sex always has been and always will be a currency……
I remember a Rathmines landlord having this kind of “arrangement” with a tenant as far back as 1992. He had a wife and kids in Navan at the time. Not a new phenomenon at all.
@Jane Gunnigan: The wife in Navan will now be checking on her husband’s property in Rathmines I992. Thing could get hot!
@Jane Gunnigan: Durable relationship
@Patrice Ahern: The marriage would be considered a durable relationship and exploitative relationship would not… really isn’t that difficult.
@Diarmuid Hunt: I wouldn’t bet on the marriage remaining a durable relationship either, and many, many are not.
@Thomas Sheridan: I would think that in the context of law that it would be especially in an scenario where it is in comparison to sex-for-rent arrangement.
Economists warned our political class that all the evidence internationally says that introducing rent caps, eviction bans etc etc in a market where the main issue is lack of supply will result in less supply, higher rents and they did not listen. SF are equally guilty as the main drum beaters for irresponsible policy. We need more politicians with engineering or science backgrounds, people who understand that words don’t create reality, and that cause leads to effect whether or not you wag your finger at it in the Dail. We need to build. Any policy to encourage building now is good. Any policy that discourages it is bad.
@Tom D: When it starts hurting FDI which must be close now they’ll start to do something. That’s all they understand.
@Tom D: We also need an electorate who will vote for such people – and telling the truth is not what people vote for. People vote to for money for nothing, basically. Daft policies come from daft politicians elected by said voters.
@Tom D: we also need less scammers and chancers claiming international protection
@Tom D: there is no lack of supply for houses in Ireland. The 2022 census listed 163,433 vacant properties in the country, most of them being in the Dublin region, with specialists saying this number could be over 180,000 in 2024. Saying there is a lack of supply is a bit of an oversimplification of the problem and doesn’t reflect the whole picture. While there is a shortage of available housing, there are a lot of reasons behind it, one of them being keeping the fallacy of housing crises to keep rent and property prices going up.
@Eduardo: One example of this is the apts by the ifsc at the Quays. The average occupancy level of some of those buildings is 60%. All apts are built to rent, but if landlords bring the rent down to increase occupancy, this will affect the prices of the other tenants, and bring down market evaluation in the area. So they keep a lower occupancy, and high rent. Nothing is as simple as the media portraits.
@Tom D: the Dail is full of Teachers (the only ones that have the time for canvassing) who have never ran anything but want to run the country!
A type of mania has set in. I got a notice for a 62% increase from what was previously a fair landlord. As young people work harder to satisfy this mania for a few blocks and a wooden roof, an unhealthy imbalance in society exists.
There is your survival of the fittest ( aggressive/greedy) with a younger generation playing along.
@Gerald Kelleher: The capitalist mania of taking advantage of anyone they can goes against what has, through the lens of evolution, made us a dominant species. You do yourself a disservice to equate the two.
No need to panic the government has the housing situation fully under control they have seen it worsen tremendously over the last 10 years and say if they are re-elected they will solve it this time. like they said the last time but this time they said they will,lessons learned by droves living in tents and inviting droves more in we will actually get to a stage that we may run out of tents as we have housing a great legacy by a government seeing the problems coming head on.
Will it also be illegal to offer sex in lieu of rent?
Vote no
Don’t make it an offence, make it a crime.
How do they get change back?
#your choice
How can they get away with advertising something like this? Bloody perverts.
If you have to sell your body so that you can study you would be better off forgetting college. No career is worth that.
@JP: But it is socially more acceptable with a sugar daddy, right?
Or for an EU passport or any desirable one?
This country has been in free-fall for years.. not surprised to read about this .There are plenty of schemers , scammers , strokers , shceisters , shady f#####s walking among us , that were born in this country .. yet still foreign nationals get demonised and scapegoated on a regular basis
have your say