Nathan Aspinall couldn’t hide his emotions when he swore during the Players Championship as Luke Littler suggested he’s set for significant punishment
Nathan Aspinall could find himself in hot water after he swore during a Players Championship event.
The Asp won Night 10 of the Premier League in his home leg in Manchester but a return to the floor events saw the 2023 World Matchplay champion vent his frustration with his performance during the match.
Aspinall took on 2024 Grand Slam of Darts runner-up Martin Lukeman in the quarter-final of Players Championship 13. But averaging just 82.61, Aspinall hit out when he saw his T20 effort fall inside the T5.
Playing on the Winmau board, Aspinall stepped back from the oche and appeared to fume: “These boards a f****** w***.”
Aspinall’s outburst could cost him dearly with the 33-year-old potentially facing a fine from the PDC.
One user on TikTok warned that Aspinall could be fined a “couple hundred quid”. However, world champion Luke Littler replied to the comment and suggested the punishment could be more severe. ‘The Nuke’ wrote: “Could[sic] hundred u don’t know what’s coming his way.”
The world No.7 was able to regain his composure, beating Lukeman 6-2. He then beat Jonny Clayton 7-4 in the semi-final but was stopped by Damon Heta in the final, as the Aussie won the event with an 8-6 victory.
Aspinall landed the £10,000 runner-up prize and how much of that he will have taken away from him for swearing in a non-televised match remains unknown.
It’s not the first time that the Asp has been fined by the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) after he was fined £250 for making an inappropriate gesture in 2022.
The DRA have previously settled for a formal warning when it comes to past incidents of inappropriate language, even on television, but Aspinall is not a first-time offender and could be subject to harsher sanctions.