Darts fans have urged authorities to 'throw the book' at Mensur Suljovic for his antics at the Swiss Darts Trophy. Suljovic was taking on Ross Smith in the third round of the event in Basel, with the Latvian edging an 11-leg thriller.
Match reaches dramatic conclusion
The match was a back-and-forth affair, with Smith the one often in control, but Suljovic refused to back down. It went to a last-leg decider, with the scores locked at 5-5, and that's when things started to turn sour.
Smith worked his way down to a finish and needed double 18 to win the match and secure a spot in the quarter-finals. However, Suljovic, looking to gain whatever advantage he could, began whipping up the crowd and asking for more noise.
Fans react to crowd-whipping incident
In the end, it appeared to work, given Smith missed his double, allowing Suljovic the chance to sneak into the next round instead. But his behaviour has left darts fans frothing at the mouth, with many calling for Suljovic to be handed a hefty punishment.
@joshpearson180 wrote on X: "I love Mensur Suljovic but that was absolutely disgusting behaviour from him, hope they throw the book at him after that. I bet Ross Smith is absolutely livid and I wouldn't blame him one bit. Pathetic."
Before adding: "It's bad enough when the crowd are putting a player off. It's even worse when an opponent is actively encouraging the crowd to put a player off. It's cheating, pure and simple. Throw the book at him @OfficialPDC."
@bhdarts wrote: "Very naughty behaviour from Mensur Suljovic to reach the Swiss Trophy quarter-finals. He has always been a master of the dark arts but this oversteps the mark. Expect DRA involvement."
While @DPatz13 said: "Mensur Suljovic is a disgrace to darts. Takes an age to throw a dart & uses the crowd to put off his opponent. If the PDC had any balls they would punish him!"
Support and response
There was some show of support for Suljovic, with @Isnubyou writing: "We all remember the Adrian Lewis walkoff playing Peter Manley, cos it was funny. Darts needs some characters like Mensur."
While @Theyoshinator7 said: "If anything that, mensur has a new fan in me, great entertainment, and really enjoyed that match, Ross can only blame himself (who I do really like as a player)."
Smith did respond to the incident on social media, saying: "I dont blame Mensur for me losing that game. I missed 2 match darts. Simple as that.
"Obviously its impossible for me to no what hes doing behind my back when im throwing apart from the the crowds response. If he wants to be an absolute helmet thats on him #karma will come around."
