Michael van Gerwen has told PDC officials to ‘kiss his bum’ after complaining about conditions on stage at the 2024 European Championships.
The Dutchman, who holds the record for most final appearances in the tournament with five, eased past Gabriel Clemens in the opening round to face Gary Anderson in the second stage.
But the two-time world champion pulled off a huge upset by defeating Van Gerwen 10-4 with an impressive 40 per cent checkout success.
Anderson played down his achievement after the match, insisting “Michael wasn’t really up there”.
Michael van Gerwen complained about conditions on the stage
PA
Van Gerwen was asked about his performance after his second-round exit and he refusted any suggestion his own play was to blame.
Instead, the four-time European champion blamed ‘wind’ for affecting his game and lashed out at tournament organisers.
“An offday? Not so much,” he said.
“There is a lot of wind on the stage. And they just don’t learn, they just don’t learn.
“While yesterday and the day before yesterday there was nothing wrong.
“They keep making the same mistakes, They want to make a nice tournament here and that’s what it should be.”
He added: ”Of course you can also beat yourself over the head if you didn’t play well enough.
“But at some point it gets into your head and it’s hard to deal with that.
Michael van Gerwen was knocked out by Gary Anderson
PA
“Any darts expert can see how my darts are laying. And then they say all the doors were closed.
“Well, they can kiss my bum, none of that is true. And then that creates irritation.
“Then they say you must be pro enough to deal with that. But I have my limits.
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ANDERSON DESTROYS VAN GERWEN 🤯
What a win for Gary Anderson as he reaches the last eight at the 2024 Machineseeker European Championship.
He beats Michael van Gerwen 10-4 to fly through in Dortmund.
đź“ş https://t.co/S1EAMLfyjDÂ #ECDarts24 | R2 pic.twitter.com/8mWYK4SFLR
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) October 26, 2024
“The PDC may scratch themselves behind the ears, because this is not the first time.”
Anderson’s win over Van Gerwen helped him climb up to 20th in the PDC Order of Merit while the Dutchman stayed third.
Ritchie Edhouse went all the way to win the European Championship for the first televised event title of his career.