‘It was the wrong thing to do to me' – Darts player who was punched by disgraced pro star speaks out for first time
Smith-Neale was banned for eights months in March 2024 for smacking amateur Sam Whittaker in the face after he beat him at the Nuneaton Darts Open in Warwickshire.
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Following his suspension, Smith-Neale claims he whacked his rival after he 'threatened' his mum during the match and made a 'derogatory comment under his breath' following his victory.
But Whittaker, 40, has dismissed these claims, saying he never threatened his mum or insulted him at the event and that he believes he only punched him because he is a 'sore loser'.
He claimed Smith-Neale, known as Big Dog, bragged to people at the tournament he was going to beat him badly and couldn't take it when he lost.
Whittaker said: 'He doesn't like it because he lost. Before we started playing, he told everyone he was going to smash me.
'It was the wrong thing to do to me because when I am on my game I can beat anyone.
'He was going round the room saying he was going to beat me, and when he lost he didn't like it. He probably did it because he knows I can beat him.'
He alleged Smith-Neale lightly kicked him in the back of his heel as he was about to throw darts several times during the match, saying he 'kept coming up behind me as I was about to take the shot and clipped me.'
Whittaker claims when he asked him to stop his mum 'shouted her mouth off' and told him 'he was in the wrong' and he was 'nothing'.
He added that the only interaction he had with her mum was to ask her 'I am in the wrong?' after she berated him, adding he 'made no threats to her'.
Whittaker said Smith-Neale, who lost his professional status due to inactivity, punched him when he tried to shake his hand at the end of the match.
Whittaker revealed that the punch didn't hurt him and he then told his rival that 'my mum can hit harder than that' after he attacked him.
He claims Smith-Neale then said "come on then" and tried to square up to him before the landlord of the pub pushed him away.
Whittaker also claimed the pair previously played in an amateur darts team which represented the Queens Head pub in Tamworth.
He said Smith-Neale announced in the team's Facebook group chat in 2015 that he was leaving it because he wanted to play Super League darts.
Whittaker wished him good luck with his new career in the chat, so he was left baffled after Smith-Neale had threatened him and the club captain by telling them he was going to 'punch them up'.
He said he was shocked by his remark as he and the captain had previously got on well with the former pro.
Whittaker said Smith-Neale can often be volatile and unpredictable, saying: 'He is just very up and down, he can be very friendly and then he can turn on you the next minute.
'He is just not a very nice person, he is always bragging and arrogant and claiming he is better than other players. It is good to have confidence but you do not need to have arrogance with it. He is just trying to ridicule people.'
Discussing the altercation in an interview with Darts World magazine, the 2018 BDO World Masters champion, Smith-Neale said: 'It was on a Saturday afternoon in a local near where I live in Nuneaton.
'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.'
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's DRA suspension was backdated to March 12, 2024 – the date of his initial ban - and lifted on November 12 last year.
The Coventry-thrower has returned to television screens this week with appearances on the MODUS Super Series in Portsmouth, which is on Pluto TV.
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