THE Darts Regulation Authority have released the following statement in relation to their most recent cases.
Darts Regulation Authority Results from Hearings
Cases referred between 6th May and 10th August 2011
The Darts Regulation Authority has received ten referrals for the following breaches of the rules:
Six cases contrary to section 4.1 of the DRA Rule Book, Code of Conduct:
'No Player or Member shall act in a manner which may reasonably be considered to injure or discredit the DRA or bring the game of darts into disrepute'
These cases relate to swearing on live television, abuse of a fellow player, two cases of players failing to complete their matches, failing to follow player instructions and inappropriate postings on Facebook. Five of the cases were found and one case is ongoing.
The penalties levied were; fines of between £200 - £1,500, one part suspended and two warning letters as to the players future conduct.
One case contrary to section 4.7 and 5.23.06 of the DRA Rule Book, Code of Conduct:
4.7 All Players, Members and Guests will desist from any behaviour which may reasonably be construed as gamesmanship before, during or after any Match at any Darts Event.
5.23.06 During Match play, all Players shall remain silent and only the Player at the Oche shall direct enquiries to the Referee. No prompting shall be allowed by any other Player, any spectator or any Official
This case is ongoing.
Two cases of failing to mark at a Youth Tour event.
The penalty in each case was a fine of £50. In one case a previous suspended sentence of a 3 month suspension was invoked as a result of two new breaches of the rules.
One case of inappropriate behaviour was considered and not proceeded with due to there being insufficient evidence to prove a breach of the rules.
Please note; there have been recent instances of players failing to complete matches. This appears to have been due to frustration on the part of players where they were not playing well. It needs to be made clear that this is not acceptable to other players, to the PDC, to the PDPA, to sponsors or to the betting industry. Although the motivation may be frustration it could be questioned as being match fixing and have an impact on other players rankings and their qualification for tournaments. Where a player does not complete a match they will be referred to the DRA for a breach of DRA rules.
It is essential that players compete to the best of their ability at all times and complete matches they are engaged in.
There have been recent well publicised issues surrounding the use of Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites. Players need to act responsibly when using these sites and remember that these are public forums. Inappropriate comments posted relating to other players or various organisations could be seen as harming the reputation of the sport and could lead to a referral to the DRA.