MIKE DE DECKER has admitted he needs to keep his mouth in check after accidentally insulting an entire country.
The Belgian darts star had a breakthrough year in 2024, winning the World Grand Prix.
RexMike De Decker has said he needs to keep his mouth in check[/caption]
RexIt comes after he accidentally insulted a whole country[/caption]
Many expected De Decker to be invited to the Darts Premier League this season, but no invite was forthcoming in the end.
As a consolation prize, the 29-year-old was invited to the Dutch Darts Masters in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
He turned down the invite, citing travel from Dubai for a holiday as his reason for not being able to go.
But De Decker’s explanation did not sit well with some as he said: “The World Series isn’t really a tournament I was looking forward to, and definitely not the one in the Netherlands.
“If you get invited, you want it to be for an event in Bahrain or Australia—somewhere exciting.
“Of all the places they hold these tournaments, ‘s-Hertogenbosch is the last place you’d want to go.”
The comments sparked backlash of a perceived insult, with De Decker admitting on the Double Top podcast he probably “need to learn to keep my mouth shut”.
He said: “I got quite a few messages asking why I have something against the Netherlands, but that’s not the case at all. I never said I don’t like the World Series of Darts.
“I probably need to learn to keep my mouth shut sometimes.
“But I’ve been to the Netherlands plenty of times.
“When you think of the World Series of Darts, you dream of playing in Bahrain or Australia—not in the Netherlands.”
Compatriot Dimitri van der Bergh described Real Deal as someone who “always speaks his mind”.
De Decker is currently ranked No21 in the world rankings.
Earlier this month he made it to the final of the Belgian Darts Open, beating Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price before losing in the final to Luke Litter.
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