Why Luke Littler was BOOED at Premier League darts by hostile Newcastle crowd during defeat to Michael van Gerwen
LUKE LITTLER was faced with a hostile reception during Premier League night four in Newcastle.
The Nuke was beaten by Michael van Gerwen in his semi-final clash and would be right to point to the boo-boys as one reason why.
It’s a reception the 17-year-old hasn’t been used to with most fans getting behind him since his spectacular run in the World Championships earlier this year.
But the crowd in Newcastle seemed to hold a grudge against the teen sensation and let him know it through their chorus of boos when he was at the oche.
Littler doesn’t have to worry about becoming the pantomime villain anytime soon though with a lighthearted reason behind the negative reaction on Tyneside.
Fans inside the Utilita Arena were joking with the teenager over some posts he made on X (formerly Twitter) back in December making fun of Newcastle United’s 2-1 defeat to AC Milan in the Champions League.
Loyal members of the Toon Army wanted to ensure they got their own back on Littler for his online trolling, which appears to have now been deleted from his social media.
There was a strong link to The Magpies inside the arena too with a number of Newcastle players watching on from the crowd.
Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff, Harvey Barnes, Mark Gillespie, Paul Dummett, Elliot Anderson and Matt Target all shared a table to keep a keen eye on the cork for the night.
And fans were left in hysterics as they were all drinking water at the famously boozy event.
Although that will have been music to the ears of manager Eddie Howe who is preparing his team for a tough game against Arsenal on Saturday night.
The Newcastle gaffer didn’t even know his players were in attendance and joked that he hoped they got home nice and early in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
He said: “I wasn’t aware of that so, erm… you’ll need to give me a list of names please.
“Hopefully it wasn’t a late night? Maybe they should’ve been in fancy dress!”