Disgraced darts star returns after assaulting opponent in pub tournament and being slapped with eight-month ban
Last year the former professional darts player accepted a charge that he had assaulted an opponent in a local pub competition.
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CCTV footage emerged online of an incident that took place on March 9, 2024 at an amateur event – the Nuneaton Darts Open at the Lucky Break Sports and Pool Bar in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.
An investigation by the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) found that 'after Smith-Neale lost the match, his opponent offered his hand and Smith-Neale punched him in the face'.
The 31-year-old claimed he had 'felt threatened by his opponent, which was why he punched him' but that reason 'was not fully accepted' by the DRA Disciplinary Committee.
The DRA suspension was backdated to March 12, 2024 – the date of his initial ban – and he was barred from playing in any sanctioned event until November 12.
During that time off, Smith-Neale – who has never played at the PDC World Darts Championship at Ally Pally – ended up losing his status as a professional thrower due to his inactivity.
Smith-Neale, known as Big Dog, has returned to television screens this week with appearances on the MODUS Super Series in Portsmouth, which is on Pluto TV.
In an interview with Darts World magazine, the 2018 BDO World Masters champion has spoken for the first time about what happened from his perspective.
He claims a rival had 'threatened my family' before and after their infamous contest that went viral online – and that is why he gave him a 'hard slap'.
Smith-Neale said: 'It was on a Saturday afternoon in a local near where I live in Nuneaton.
'I was in the semi-final of this tournament and playing a lad…who is just a couple of years older than me.
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'There was a bit of needle and he made threats towards me which plenty of people heard.
'Then my mum got involved and he had a go back at her, making threats also.
'It was kind of decided between us that we would sort things out after the match.
'Then, as he threw the winning dart and walked to retrieve it from the board, he made a derogatory comment under his breath – well, it was loud enough to clearly hear.
'So when he turned round, I gave him a kind of hard slap which I guess looked like a punch on the video footage.
'They (the DRA) told me I was suspended pending an investigation for bringing the game into disrepute.
'Yeah, I knew a few weeks before (the ban) went public. They gave me eight months, which was actually quite clever.
'It still meant I could attend the World Championship qualifiers and Q-School the following January if needed.'
Asked by Darts World if he regretted his actions, Smith-Neale replied: 'If someone threatens my family, I would do the same thing again.'
Smith-Neale – whose son Freddie was born in January – now works for a tech company.
But he is keen to try his hand at PDC Q School in 2026 and potentially regain his place on the Tour next year.
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