Pro Darts Player Faces Backlash For Making Lewd Hand Gesture To Opponent

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Professional darts player Nathan Aspinall is making headlines for seemingly mocking an opponent with a lewd hand gesture during a win.

Aspinall defeated Jermaine Wattimena earlier this week, helping him advance to the quarterfinals of the Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts. Midway through the impressive victory, he was caught on camera signaling what many are calling “the wanker” behind Wattimena’s back as the two took walked off the playing stage for an intermission.

You can find a video of the crude gesture here, and while hilarious, it’s now gotten the dart thrower in some hot water:

Aspinall was dominant throughout his 10-6 win over Wattimena, but the off-the-field action has put a bit of a damper on his day. The gesture has now been reported to the Darts Regulation Authority, meaning Aspinall will likely receive some sort of punishment from the league.

That could result in a fine, and in the least, an apology.

“The video will be studied by the DRA, who are our disciplinary body. They will determine if any offense has been committed and apply any appropriate punishment.”

In the video, you can see that the signal was made in jest as he quickly smirks and waves for the cameraman to stop filming him after realizing he was on the air. The broadcast tried its best to cut to an image of the crowd, but the damage had already been done.

Aspinall has responded to the clip of his gesture, and he fully expects to be fined. He answered, “Yeah, probably,” when asked about the possibility of receiving monetary penalty. He went on to explain his thought process behind his action.

“It was [not directed] at Jermaine. It was purely the fact that is how I played in that second session.

“You know the sign? That’s how I played in my eyes. I did it, I shouldn’t have done it, it was one of those spur of the moment things. It is what it is. Nothing can I do now.”

Nathan Apinall will look to put this behind him when he moves on to the next round of play. He’ll take on either Jonny Clayton or Alan Soutar in the quarterfinals.

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