HEARN TELLS STARS TO BLOCK OUT CROWD “NUMPTIES”
23/04/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
DARTS supremo Barry Hearn has told players they must “get used to it” as crowd trouble continues to plague major events.
Referee Huw Ware has been forced to step in twice on the Euro Tour in Germany in recent weeks, even threatening to call security to eject fans after persistent whistling disrupted matches.
Meanwhile, world No.1 Luke Littler could be in for a hostile reception in Liverpool on Night 12 of the Premier League, with boos expected ahead of his clash with Luke Humphries because of his well-known support for Manchester United.
Hearn slammed the behaviour from spectators inside arenas but admitted the players have no choice but to adapt to it.
He told SunSport: “We have to rely on people’s common sense. And sometimes that’s not there. It’s absent. But eventually it turns.
“Because people realise it’s counterproductive to the evening, which it is.
“In the meantime, the players are pros. They’ve got to get used to it. And they will do. But I don’t like it.
“The moment you say to anybody with authority don’t do something it’s a red rag to a bull – and they’ll do it ten times more.
“That’s just life. You can’t sling out 12,000 people from the Ahoy Stadium in Rotterdam. Because it takes too long to get them back in again.
“You just have to rely on a bit of common sense. And sometimes that’s slow in coming.
“It’s annoying. I don’t know an answer other than look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself whether you’ve been a total numpty.”
