Darts star apologises and reveals backstage scolding over Ally Pally wasp incident

Young darts player Jurjen van der Velde has issued an apology for spraying wasp repellent during his entrance at Alexandra Palace. The Dutch ace was making his World Championship debut against compatriot Danny Noppert.

The 23-year-old's entrance was certainly memorable. He strode on stage, shook hands with officials, acknowledged the audience and thensprayed anti-wasp spray around himself and onto his neck.

It was a light-hearted nod to the notorious 'Ally Pally wasp'who has beenbothering players such as Luke Littler and Liverpudlian ace Stephen Bunting on stage, buzzing around their faces or even landing on them mid-match. However, PDC bosses and event organisers were not laughing.

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Following his 3-1 defeat to Noppert, Van der Velde admitted in his post-match press conference: "It was meant as a joke, but I did get a b******ing. I sprayed that stuff, but that wasn't such a smart idea from me.

"I was told right after the first set by the PDC. I thought, 'Great to hear that straight away' because I lost the first set and then you've still got to regroup. It does take you out of the match a bit.

"But there were people allergic to it. Well, it certainly wasn't my intention and I told the PDC that straight away: sorry about that."

Meanwhile, his opponent Noppert said he found the incident to be rather amusing. He said: "I really hate wasps. Imagine getting stung in the neck. It could happen to you. I even told the people who were with me to warn me if a wasp started to crawl up my collar.”

Despite the incident, it didn't dampen what was a special day for the 2024 PDC World Youth Championship finalist. He appeared visibly moved and overwhelmed when he walked on for the match.

He added: "This is what I dreamed of as a kid. I watched guys like Raymond van Barneveld and Phil Taylor and all those other legends who stood here. Maybe this was my last time. I’m going to watch back all the clips of what I experienced. ]

"My dad was here for the first time too. Sorry, here I go again. The man is always busy on the farm, so I wanted one thing and that was for him to be here. That he was here, I think that’s fantastic.”

On his display, he added: "After 1-1 I thought, 'Right then, put the foot down.' But that's when Danny found another gear.

"Besides that Audi he has with six gears, he found a seventh one here. That's totally fine, I'll only learn from this. Danny made four major semi-finals this year. You don't do that by accident."

Noppert is set to face off against Scottish sensation Alan Soutar in the second round at Alexandra Palace. The World No. 6, who clinched the 2022 UK Open, will be squaring off against Soutar on December 23.