storm

MICHAEL van Gerwen admitted he was “angry and disappointed” after a World Grand Prix ‘stampgate’ storm.

The three-times World Champ crashed out of the tournament following a bust-up with fellow countryman Danny Noppert on Monday night.

Noppert, 30, claimed that MVG was stamping on the stage to put him off going for a double before knocking out the former World No.1.

The pair failed to shake hands after the match and Van Gerwen blasted: “I’m angry and disappointed that I didn’t win. The fans were phenomenal in Leicester. I have played this sport a long time and have never and will never use tactics on the oche.”

It was the biggest win for Noppert in the PDC but he admitted that he couldn’t enjoy it under the controversial circumstances. 

He said: “We make some words with each other after the first set. He was angry. I didn’t want it this way, it’s bad. If he steps on the floor, he has more weigh than me.

“I told him he stomped on the floor when I threw for a double. We then had words after the first set. After that I was throwing brilliantly, but I could see that he was p****d off.”

There was nothing clear to see on the footage afterwards to indicate that Van Gerwen tried to put Noppert off. But the former Lakeside finalist insists that gamesmanship was used.

He added: “You can’t see this on TV. It was my experience. I felt I had to say something about it and I did. I don’t regret that. I hope Michael and I can speak to each other after this. If not, no hard feelings.”

Sky Sports pundit Wayne Mardle added: “Only the players know what went on and only Michael knows if he was stamping. Maybe he did. And if he did then he’s kind of gone to depths that he hasn’t done before. But I don’t know.

“But Danny obviously felt there was something. But what we did see was that Michael was just there and he took exception to maybe a loose floorboard, it does happen a lot on these stages.

“That’s not making excuses for Michael van Gerwen. That’s just the experience of being up here a lot. But there’s clearly no love lost and there’s something that has gone on.”

Images by Taylor Lanning.