Gary Anderson Made ‘Deliberately Lost’ Claim After Rival Hit By Coins In PL Match

Gary Anderson once found himself at the centre of a Premier League Darts controversy after suggesting he had “deliberately lost” a match because of the behaviour of the crowd towards his close friend and opponent, Adrian Lewis — before later insisting he would never intentionally throw a game.

The incident occurred during the league phase of the 2011 Premier League, when Anderson faced Lewis in Glasgow. Later that year, Anderson would go on to win the title, emphatically beating Lewis 10-4 in the final at Wembley Stadium.

When the pair met earlier in the campaign in Scotland, Anderson was the clear home favourite. Born near Edinburgh, the Scot was heavily backed by the Glasgow crowd, who made their feelings clear from the outset by loudly booing Lewis every time he approached the oche.

Early in the match, Lewis needed 68 to take the opening leg but stepped away mid-throw, gesturing angrily towards the crowd. He then alerted the referee that an object had been thrown in his direction, a moment that only intensified the hostility raining down from the stands.

Anderson surged into a 3-0 lead, but his frustration at the crowd’s behaviour was obvious. Lewis, known as ‘Jackpot’, then mounted a remarkable comeback, winning five consecutive legs. During the ninth leg, Anderson halted one of his throws to pick up a coin from the stage, slip it into his pocket, and shout angrily towards the spectators.

Lewis went on to complete an 8-3 victory, with the crowd’s abuse finally easing as he closed in on the finish line.

Four years later, Anderson was asked by BBC Scotland whether he had intentionally lost the match. His initial response caused shockwaves.

“Yes,” Anderson said. “I didn’t want to win a game where that happened. I thought it was a disgrace.”

He added: “It was bad that night. I’m a proud Scotsman, but when that happened, it sickened me.”

Following the publication of those comments, Anderson moved quickly to clarify his words on social media, insisting they had been misunderstood. He stressed that he would never deliberately lose a match under any circumstances.

“I didn’t answer that question as I meant to,” Anderson wrote, via the Daily Record. “I would never intentionally lose a match, nor step on the oche to give anything other than my best.

“But that night, I felt the crowd behaviour was so disgraceful that I lost all my motivation to win and was completely unable to concentrate.

“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to win — I just found myself unable to do so because I felt so ashamed of what was happening that I couldn’t focus on my game at all.”

The PDC later released a statement backing Anderson, saying: “Although we can see how Gary’s comments may have been misconstrued, we have complete confidence in the integrity of Gary and all our players, and would not want a slip in an interview to undermine this.”