FEARS have been sparked over the safety of darts stars after Luke Humphries was injured by a fan at the US Masters.
The world No1 was forced to go to hospital after being pulled back by a supporter during his walk-on in New York last month.
Fears have been sparked over player safety after Luke Humphries was injured by a fan during a walk-on[/caption]
The over-zealous fan latched on to Humphries’ thumb before yanking it as the star made his way to the stage.
It left the former world champion with a swollen digit that made it painful to hold darts in his 8-6 win over Nathan Aspinall.
Humphries was forced to go to A&E after the match for an emergency X-ray.
And fortunately for him, there was no serious damage done.
But now questions have been raised over the behaviour of some fans during walk-ons.
Darts stars are always up for signing autographs and posing for photos as they make their way to the oche.
Yet there are concerns over how darts moves forward after the raucous crowd in New York.
Speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast, former pro Vincent van der Voort said: “Humphries showed me his thumb the next day, it was really swollen.”
BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS
Host Damian Vlottes then noted: “(The walk-on) really didn’t look safe for the players.”
Van den Voort then suggested that players instead fist-bump fans instead of shaking hands.
He added: “Raymond van Barneveld always fist-bumps with his non-throwing hand.
“He says, ‘I don’t want those beer-soaked hands anywhere near my darting hand’.
“More players should take a leaf out of his book.”
