Varsity darts match called off after violence breaks out in crowd

Dartsity, the annual Darts competition between Uni Of and Hallam, was abandoned on Saturday night due to violence in the crowd.

UoS had secured a 4-1 lead before fights broke out in the sixth match. The violence is alleged to have begun when Hallam fans threw beer over Adam Warner, Uni Of captain, as he celebrated winning his match.

Consequently fans from both teams joined in, with punches, chairs and pints being thrown.

Security attempted to deal with the brawling, but it has been suggested that they were understaffed for the crowd of 800.

Police were called to the Octagon just before 10pm with reports of fighting.

Forge Sport took to Twitter to give updates, and call the crowd “pathetic tiny people”.

A statement has been released by the University of Sheffield Darts Society, expressing thanks to the organisers, teams and charities involved, but also their disappointment in how the event played out:

“We cannot condemn strongly enough the disgraceful behaviour of those who refused to respect the two teams and the staff. As a society we have strived to shed the negative image of darts and make the sport something everyone can enjoy. We will not stop trying in spite of the events of last night.

“It is the worst scenario of all that players who had worked hard to earn their place in the biggest darts event we will ever play in were not able to play and enjoy the occasion.

“The people who brought the night to an early end will not feel any remorse for their actions, or face punishment. The ones who suffer are us, those who worked hard to put the event on and acted in the right spirit.

“Dartsity has been a long-held dream of ours, and though last night it felt as though that dream had died, we will come back and try to host Dartsity in 2018”.