‘I hadn’t realised’ – Luke Littler vs Gian van Veen referee breaks silence on extraordinary Premier League Darts ro

The man who stood closest to one of darts’ most talked-about flashpoints in recent memory has finally broken his silence — and he has strong words for those piling in on Luke Littler.

Huw Ware, one of the PDC’s most senior referees and a Winmau global ambassador, has spoken candidly about the fallout from last week’s explosive Premier League quarter-final between Littler and Gian van Veen at Manchester’s AO Arena — insisting that much of the criticism directed at the 19-year-old world champion online has gone well beyond the boundaries of what is acceptable.

“There have been some things that have been said, especially online, which have just been completely unnecessary and callous, actually,” Ware told The Argus. “They have got nothing to do with the incident that happened at all. It has all been about tearing Luke Littler down.”

The incident itself occurred in the deciding leg of their quarter-final on Night Nine. Van Veen missed a match dart at double 15, and Littler appeared to celebrate the miss. Van Veen looked to have noticed and turned round to express his bemusement, prompting Littler to throw his arms in the air and produce a crying gesture towards the crowd. Littler then missed further match darts at double seven, allowing Van Veen to return and seal a 6-5 victory, prompting a frosty handshake between the pair.

Sky Sports pundit Wayne Mardle, who claimed he knew exactly what had unfolded, said: “Van Veen went inside on D15 and Luke was happy about that so kind of gave it the Simon Whitlock ‘well done’. You shouldn’t do that and as he has done that, Gian has turned around thinking ‘why did you do that?’ He got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He won’t be doing that again.”

Van Veen was characteristically blunt in his post-match assessment. “I’m on 90, I miss double 15 on the inside, and then I see him celebrating towards the crowd. I don’t think that’s normal,” he told Sky Sports. “He’s a fantastic darts player, but today he showed he’s not a good loser.”

Speaking subsequently to Swedish streaming service Viaplay, Van Veen confirmed the pair had not spoken since. “He hasn’t approached me either. I saw his reaction on social media. He thought it was funny. I don’t think things will be very friendly between us anytime soon. I care little about what he thinks of me.”

But Ware, who as a PDC referee is bound by impartiality and pointedly refused to pass judgement on the incident itself, drew a firm line between what happened on stage and the torrent of criticism that followed it online.

“I take my hat off to him,” he said of Littler. “Given that he has had the whole world, not just this country, at his feet since he was 16 years of age, I think he could have handled it a lot worse than he has. It’s not easy. And I think it has gone to the stage where he has been around for two or three years and we forget he is still only 19. He is still very young.”

The referee also contextualised the incident within the broader landscape of darts, noting it was far from unprecedented. “I’ve seen a lot of far worse incidents than that where the two players have made up the very next time they have seen each other,” he said. “Let’s give everybody a break. Let’s give Gian a break as well. He was also involved.”

Littler’s close friend Morgan Burtwistle — better known as Angry Ginge and winner of I’m a Celebrity — similarly defended the teenager on his YouTube channel. “Brother’s 19 and playing in front of millions, playing darts, one of the biggest athletes in the world, especially in England. Believe it or not, he will lose his head at points.”

The row now adds extra spice to Night 10 of the Premier League in Brighton this Thursday. Littler faces Stephen Bunting in the quarter-finals, while Van Veen takes on Michael van Gerwen — meaning a Littler vs Van Veen semi-final rematch is possible if both come through.

Ware, who says he regularly finds himself in awe of what he witnesses at the oche, summed up the bigger picture neatly. “Sometimes I am stood up there thinking, ‘How are you doing this right now? How are you playing like this in this atmosphere with the way the game has gone, with what’s at stake?’ They are just so talented at throwing darts. We’re talking about the best of the best.”

All eyes will be on Brighton to see whether the needle between two of darts’ most compelling characters continues — or whether, as Ware suggests, it all blows over before the next handshake.