Nathan Aspinall involved in heated exchange with darts official as referee steps in to separate them

Nathan Aspinall involved in heated exchange with darts official as referee steps in to separate them

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Stuart Ballard

By Stuart Ballard


Published: 01/04/2024

- 14:42

Nathan Aspinall came back from 4-1 down to beat Dirk van Duijvenbode in the second round of the German Darts Grand Prix.

Nathan Aspinall stopped his celebrations after beating Dirk van Duijvenbode to confront the marker on stage twice before the referee stepped in.

The German Darts Grand Prix features some of the best players in the world and Sunday saw the likes of Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith all progress to the next round.


Aspinall was the last match of the afternoon session to get underway and he got off to a slow start against Van Duijvenbode.

The Dutchman raced to a 4-1 lead and was just two legs away from knocking Aspinall out.

Nathan Aspinall was unhappy with the marker over something

Nathan Aspinall was unhappy with the marker over something

PDC

Van Duijvenbode missed a great chance to make it 5-1 and Aspinall took full advantage to level things back up.

Aspinall went on to win the next five legs to wrap up an impressive win and progress to the third round.

But something appeared to annoy Aspinall during the match as he went over to the marker to explain his frustrations.

Aspinall waved his arms around in a writing gesture with suggestions he was unhappy about the speed of the young marker.

The Premier League star walked away to shake the hands of the others on stage before running over to return to the marker again.

There didn't appear to be any real malice in the exchange as Aspinall smiled with the marker, however referee Huw Ware felt necessary to step in and separate them.

The victory saw Aspinall set up a testing clash with compatriot Ross Smith, who entered the tournament as the 12th seed.

There were a few upsets in the second round though with the likes of Stephen Bunting and Ricardo Pietreczko being knocked out.

Nathan Aspinall approached the marker twice

Nathan Aspinall approached the marker twice

PDC

Humphries appears to be the man to beat though as he's averaged 108 and 111 in progressing to the quarter-finals.

Speaking after his second-round win against Luke Woodhouse, Humphries revealed his confidence about going all the way in Munich.

“Luke is a fantastic player. I knew I had a tough task tonight,'' Humphries said.

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Nathan Aspinall appeared to be upset over the speed of the marker

Nathan Aspinall appeared to be upset over the speed of the marker

PDC

“My scoring was really good but my finishing was obviously unbelievable, and that’s what won me the game in the end."

'If I bring that game tomorrow, it’s going to take a big performance to beat me, but I need to carry on playing like that.

"It has been a long time since I’ve won a European Tour [title], so I’ve got my eyes set on winning another one tomorrow!”

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