Gary Anderson labels Joe Cullen a ‘cheat’ as darts players row after Premier League match

The pair exchanged heated words during and after the match, which Cullen won

Sarah Rendell
Saturday 26 March 2022 10:54 GMT
Comments
Joe Cullen during his match with Gary Anderson
Joe Cullen during his match with Gary Anderson (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Joe Cullen says his Premier League opponent Gary Anderson labelled him a “cheat” after Cullen came from 5-3 down to beat him 6-5 on Thursday.

It was a darts classic but the tension was visible on the last leg, with Anderson looking back at Cullen while setting up to throw. It is thought he believed Cullen was encroaching on him. Anderson then missed darts that would have seen him take the win.

The pair exchanged heated words after the match and Cullen gave DAZN a glimpse into the conversation, saying: “For want of a better expression, he called me a cheat. Gary was saying I know what I did, I said: ‘I don’t know what I did.’

“I did absolutely nothing wrong. Never had an issue with Gary in the past. I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, my conscience is clear. I don’t know what it was.

“I said: ‘Watch every camera back you’ve got.’ I don’t know whether it was the heat of the moment. We all do stupid things in the heat of the moment. I’m a lot of things but I’m not a cheat. I’ve got a lot of respect for Gary, he’s a great ambassador for the sport but I think he let himself down a bit tonight.”

Cullen then went on to beat Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen to take the league title in Rotterdam. The player started the evening at the bottom of the league standings but the win has seen him rise into the play-off places.

He will have to maintain the spot for weeks as the play-offs are being held on 13 June.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in