SIMON, YOU REQUIRE A No.2
Unwell Whitlock makes emergency toilet dash in match with Heta
SIMON WHITLOCK will face no sanctions after being ‘dumped’ out of the Ladbrokes UK Open following an emergency toilet break.
The Wizard of Oz made an unprecedented dash to the traps midleg when trailing 9-8 against fellow Aussie Damon Heta in the fourth round at Butlins in Minehead, saying: “I’m going to burst.”
Referee Huw Ware gave Whitlock permission to answer his urgent call of nature - and when he returned, he promptly lost the tie 10-8.
Fans broke into a mischievous chorus of “Simon Whitlock, he s***s when he wants” when he returned to the stage - but the Professional Darts Corporation insist it was a simple crisis of bowel movement.
Chief executive Matt Porter said: “Before he went on stage, we were aware that Simon was unwell.
“There was definitely no question of gamesmanship. He was genuinely ill and it was an unfortunate call of nature.” Whitlock, who celebrated his 55th birthday yesterday, left Heta (below), his 2022 World Cup-winning sidekick, throwing practice darts for two minutes before the tie resumed.
The ‘Beard to be feared’ apologised to compatriot Heta for the unexpected stoppage.
But it was the most embarrassing episode for an
Aussie player since
Tony Fleet, stumbling on the stage and fumbling his arrows, scored only 346 with
27 darts (26, 41, 60, 60,
5, 41, 22, 80 and 11) at the Lakeside world championship against
Martin Adams 14 years ago – widely considered the worst leg in darts history.
And 16-times world champion Phil Taylor, the greatest marksman of all time, is inclined to cut Whitlock some slack.
The ‘Power’ said: “I’ve never known anything like it – that’s never happened to me in 30-odd years and it’s never happened to any of my opponents, either.
“I’m not going to be judge and jury because I don’t know why it
happened, but I would probably guess that Simon was sick and when you’ve got to go, you’ve gotta go.
“You see toilet breaks in tennis, but a tennis match can last four or five hours and the players have to stay hydrated so you can understand it.
“But it’s obviously very unusual in a game which lasts 45 or 50 minutes, and there have already been three scheduled TV breaks.”
Heta later revealed that Whitlock had offered to forfeit the match if necessary, saying: “It was funny – it’s never happened to me before and I didn’t know the rules, but you just roll with it.
“Huw said I could keep throwing (practice darts) but at 9-8 up it was still edgy and, if I could throw those edgy moments out, then great – it works in my favour.
“Simon going off probably helped me and it didn’t help him. He did say he would throw ( forfeit) the game but Huw made the adjudication and I was fine with it.”