Darts legend Dennis Priestley believes Luke Littler should be fined after the teenager recently turned up late to a photoshoot.
The 18-year-old angered Michael van Gerwen with his lack of punctuality, with the Dutchman fuming: “[He was] 45 minutes late.
“They need to stop treating him as a baby, yeah? He’s not a baby any more. He’s 18 years old now.
“It happens. He has to learn, but he needs to learn the hard way. It’s a professional sport so you have to be responsible for your actions as well, simple as that.
Darts star Luke Littler recently angered Michael van Gerwen by turning up late for a photoshoot
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“If he turns up late for an interview, I don’t really mind, by now seven other people are waiting for him.
“That’s not really nice, is it?”
Littler shrugged off Van Gerwen’s blast, though did admit that he was given a ‘telling off’ by the 35-year-old for his lateness.
Yet darts legend Priestley believes the 18-year-old should be fined for his antics and insists it will benefit him in the long run.
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He told OLBG: “Luke Littler should’ve been fined for turning up late and that would be the right thing to do, it’s a learning experience for him, the fine should be automatic.
“If you are late to your own event, that is one thing.
“But when there are seven other players as well as staff and media there that have all made the effort, it isn’t good enough no matter what your age is.
“Michael van Gerwen is right to complain, I just hope he took Littler to one side and did things properly and calmly as well as speaking to the media.
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“The Premier League is a team game in the sense that you are all together for so long and you need to stick together.
“If it was someone like Gerwyn Price, you think he may have been given a fine and it should be no different for Littler.”
Priestley also thinks that Littler and Van Gerwen have a rocky relationship and that a ‘storm is brewing’ between the pair.
“It seems as though there is a storm brewing between Van Gerwen and Littler,” he continued.
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Darts legend Dennis Priestley believes Luke Littler should be fined after the teenager recently turned up late to a photoshoot
PA
“It has probably dawned on Van Gerwen that he was the big star in darts for so long and now all the limelight has been taken away and he isn’t the centre of attention any more.
“Van Gerwen spoke out about Littler being late and I think that’s fair.
“It’s also because all the attention is on Littler now after Van Gerwen spent so long being the main man.
“All the eyes and talk is about Littler now and Van Gerwen didn’t mind that when it was all about him, now that has changed and there could be some good battles between them going forward.
Darts icon Dennis Priestley thinks there’s a ‘storm brewing’ between Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen
PA
“Van Gerwen might have that fear that he won’t become world champion again given the talent he is up against and that will hurt when he dominated for so long.”
Littler and Van Gerwen are currently preparing for night two of the Premier League, which will take place in Glasgow on Thursday.