PRICE CRITICISED FOR WIND WOE COMPLAINT

By Aaron Nijjar

GERWYN PRICE has slammed the conditions at Rotterdam’s Ahoy Arena as he called on the PDC to ditch the venue altogether.

World No. 12 Price was left fuming after his 6-3 defeat to Nathan Aspinall in the second quarter-final of Night 11 in the Premier League. 

‘The Iceman’ took to Instagram before later deleting the post to vent his frustration over the draft on stage, which he claimed made playing conditions impossible. 

Players have complained about the wind inside the Ahoy in previous years, and Price believed the airflow was again a major issue during his performance in front of 11,000 fans. 

In the deleted post, the former World champ said: “Gutted for myself, gutted for everyone that supports me.

“I’m so sorry but this week was pointless and we move to next week. 

“Darts were blowing everywhere and after leg one, which was lucky, I knew it’s pointless. 

“Hopefully, PDC will now stop coming here and look for alternative venues. 

“Not good for the players, not good for the fans and not good for people that like a bet. 

“Onto next week where we get to play in decent conditions. 

“And if you think it’s the same for both players, you’re as daft as you look.” 

The Welsh thrower’s decision to delete the post was met with criticism—most notably from former player and pundit Vincent van der Voort. 

Speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast, Van der Voort questioned Price’s decision to backtrack. 

He said: “But you know how the PDC reacts when you voice criticism. So you either stand by your words, or you don’t post them at all. 

“He does this more often. And I don’t think that’s very brave. If you have an opinion, stick to it. Now he’s shared it and then backed down. 

“Maybe the PDC reached out to him, or he cooled off on his own. But it happens regularly. 

“You post something in the heat of the moment, but once you realise the impact, you pull it down. 

“Still, you know what you’re doing—so have the courage to leave it up.” 

The Ahoy Arena’s airflow has been a long-standing complaint on the Premier League circuit.  

Van der Voort, who has played at the venue himself, believes it’s an issue that should have been fixed by now. 

He added: “The tricky part is that you can’t test it in advance. The airflow only starts once the crowd is inside. 

“We’ve felt it ourselves on stage. It’s less severe than in previous years, and players threw better, so something must have improved. 

“It’s a fantastic venue but after ten editions, the wind problem really should have been solved by now.” 

Seven-time major winner Price sits fourth in the table and is two points off Nathan Aspinall who is in third.  

Price returns to Premier League action on Thursday at Liverpool in the M&S Arena and will face Chris Dobey.