Gerwyn Price endorses darts moving to Saudi because of 'drunken fans causing fights'

Gerwyn Price has thrown his weight behind Barry Hearn's idea of moving darts tournaments to Saudi Arabia. The Matchroom founder told the Mirror that there is a strong interest from the Middle Eastern nation in hosting events.

He and son Eddie have formed successful collaborations with them in both snooker and boxing in recent years. But like with those sports, the proposal has sparked backlash from fans.

Price, however, is all for it, expressing his support on Instagram. He even believes relocating the World Championship could be a positive change from London's Alexandra Palace.

His post read: "Maybe it's the way forward. Less drunken hooligans that aren't fans, causing fights, that turn up once in a blue moon and spoil/dictates the outcome of the game in what's the most important event of the year for the players.

"If you want that atmosphere there's four months of it with the Premier League. People can still enjoy themselves without alcohol #PlayersFirst." Price also cheekily noted under his post: "Any feathers ruffled."

Price, who is often portrayed as the villain at Ally Pally by the predominantly English crowd, clinched his world title during the 2021 tournament held without spectators.

Hearn, meanwhile, is attacted by the financial benefits of the Saudi move, but isn't rushing anything. He said: "I have spoken to the Saudis and they were very keen. But of course there's no alcohol in Saudi. There will be quite soon, and when it does, the first event they will want to stage in Saudi will be darts."

Ally Pally might not be the home of the World Darts Championship for much longer, as Hearn contemplates a move following a surge in the sport's popularity, thanks in large part to the dramatic rise of 17-year-old Luke Littler.

"It's a great atmosphere at Ally Pally, but well, we're looking at it," admitted Hearn, 85. "And we're going to be very adventurous because we have tremendous demands all around the world for people that want to play in the World Darts Championship from different countries.

"I could sell a quarter of a million seats for the world championship. I sell 90,000. Do I go into the big hall? I think there's a lot of work, but that would give me 6,000 seats. And I'd still be at Ally Pally. Or do I go somewhere else?

"Everyone will say, 'are you gonna take it to Saudi?' Well, no, don't be silly. They're not ready yet, But they won't be far along. They won't allow alcohol and the essence of darts is it's party time, isn't it? It's fun as well as great sport."