Vincent van der Voort has apologised to PDC referee Kirk Bevins, following his angry exchange at the end of his quarterfinal defeat to Glen Durrant last night. After Durrant sealed an extra-time victory, van der Voort took exception to Bevins after the official penalised the Dutchman for an underarm throw.

The foul occurred in the 22nd leg of the match, at the time Van der Voort, leading 12-9. Having gone inside on double nine, VvvD then threw his final dart at the board in anger in an underarm in a manner.

Official DRA rule state that “all darts must be deliberately thrown in an overarm fashion” Bevins immediately picked up on the foul, and clear in his reasoning behind the call. Bevins was clearly heard by the on-stage microphones giving his explanation.

Van der Voort took to Twitter the following this morning to issue an apology to Bevins and wish Durrant well for his Semi-Final against Dimitri van den Bergh.

“Having seen footage and spoken to people I need to apologise to Kirk, the referee as I thought he complained that I stepped over the oche and this is why I reacted at end of the game.”

“He actually complained that I threw the dart not correctly, which I now know.

“Also to Glen, he took advantage of my fall of concentration with the incident allowing him back into the game, for that he did well and best of luck in today’s game to him.”

Having seen footage and spoken to people I need to apologise to Kirk the referee as I thought he complained that I stepped over the oche and this is why I reacted at end of the game. He actually complained that I threw the dart not correctly, which I now know. Also to

— Vincent v/d Voort (@VvdV180) July 25, 2020

 

VvdV will see this a missed opportunity, having led the semifinal for most of the match. Over the last week, we have seen the best form the Dutchman for many years. With all the top seeds crashing out, he will have seen this as a chance to have won a major TV title.

Glen Durrant will now play Dimitri van den Bergh in tonight’s second semifinal.