Doubt has been cast over the future of major darts championships in Melbourne after an incident during which plastic chairs were hurled and people were reportedly body-slammed into tables during a match at the Etihad stadium.
World number one Michael “Mighty Mike” van Gerwen was taking on local favourite Simon “The Wizard” Whitlock on Saturday evening when the trouble started.
Some of the watching crowd, many in fancy dress, hurled plastic chairs. Patrons dressed as Oompa Loompas and Robin, Batman’s sidekick, were seen caught up in the melee.
The incident reportedly began when some in the crowd started trying to build a pyramid of plastic furniture. Witnesses said people were then body-slammed into tables and groups of attendees brawled with each other.
The match was halted during the incident.
The chaotic scenes prompted the Victorian government to question whether the invitational tournament, or other major darts events, could return to Melbourne.
“These are not the sort of major events we want in our city and I’m sure that the organisers, those who look after the stadium, everybody in what became very ugly, will sit down and learn from this and be much better prepared, much better equipped when it comes to running similar events in the future,” said Daniel Andrews, the Victorian premier.
Andrews said throwing chairs was “unacceptable behaviour” that would not be tolerated by the state government.
A Victoria police spokeswoman said officers were called to the Etihad stadium at 8.40pm and they “quickly brought the situation under control”.
“We don’t condone this kind of behaviour,” she said.
Police are working to assess footage of the incident to determine whether any arrests should be made.
Bill Lane, a spokesman for the stadium, said there were no injuries but that the future of darts at the venue will be reviewed.
“There’ll be a significant debrief on what went well, what went wrong, what we can do better, and a decision will be made in due course,” Lane told the Herald Sun.
“The darts players themselves have been part of an organisation that has grown the game internationally and they’re proud of their efforts ... and they’re disappointed by what happened.”
