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The Sun
31 minutes ago
- The Sun
‘It was the wrong thing to do to me' – Darts player who was punched by disgraced pro star speaks out for first time
THE DARTS player who was punched by Adam Smith-Neale has spoken out about being attacked for the 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. 3 3 3 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.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Is Tottenham vs Newcastle on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch pre-season friendly
Tottenham Hotspur face Newcastle United in the final friendly of the clubs' tours of Asia just under a fortnight before the 2025/26 Premier League season starts. Spurs arrive in Seoul off the back of a narrow win over Arsenal last time out in what was the first north London derby played outside of the UK, while Newcastle lost 1-0 to a K-League XI in Suwon. Thomas Frank 's side are looking to continue their solid preseason preparations under their new boss ahead of the Uefa Super Cup final on 13 August, while Eddie Howe is still wrestling with a disappointing transfer window in which the Magpies have lost out on most of their key targets and also look set to lose star striker Alexander Isak. When is Tottenham vs Newcastle? The match kicks off at 12pm BST at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, South Korea. How can I watch it? The game will not be televised in the UK, but subscribers can watch the match on the respective clubs' own TV channels, NUFC TV and SPURSPLAY. You can purchase a match pass on NUFC TV for around £6.99, while Spurs only offer an annual subscription to SPURSPLAY, which is £45. Team news Thomas Frank may be forced to leave out Dominic Solanke and Destiny Udogie once again after the duo missed the win over Arsenal, while James Maddison could feature after sitting on the bench for that one. Newcastle are missing Isak, while Lewis Hall could sit this match out after an ankle injury and Sven Botman could be rested after also missing the match against the K-League side. Joe Willock also suffered an injury in that match, though the severity is not known yet. Tottenham's preseason fixtures and results July 19: Reading 0-2 Tottenham - Select Car Leasing Stadium, Reading July 26: Tottenham 2-2 Wycombe Wanderers - Hotspur Way, Enfield July 26: Luton Town 0-0 Tottenham - Kenilworth Road, Luton July 31: Arsenal 0-1 Tottenham - Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong August 3: Newcastle - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, 12pm August 7: Bayern Munich - Allianz Arena, Munich, 5:30pm Newcastle's preseason fixtures and results July 19: Celtic 4-0 Newcastle - Celtic Park, Glasgow July 27: Arsenal 3-2 Newcastle - National Stadium, Singapore July 30: K-League XI 1-0 Newcastle - Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon August 3: Tottenham - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, 12pm August 8: Espanyol - St. James' Park, 7.30pm
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Tottenham need to find a way to capitalise on legacy of trailblazer Son
Just as opposing fans in the Premier League have experienced feelings of dread over the past decade when Son Heung-min picked up the ball on the edge of their area, there had been a summer of worry among his millions of followers in Asia that his time in England was coming to an end. As the South Korean's legs slowed last season, reports of a move elsewhere gathered pace. His 10 years at Tottenham may have ended with a trophy, the Europa League in May, but the legacy had been in place for some time. The 33-year-old has changed the way Asian players are perceived around the world and much more besides. 'It was the most difficult decision I have made in my career,' an emotional Son said at a Seoul press conference on Saturday before Sunday's pre-season exhibition against Newcastle. 'Such amazing memories. It was so hard to make the decision. I need a new environment to push myself. I need a little bit of change – 10 years is a long time. I came to north London as a kid, 23 years old, such a young age. I leave this club as a grown man, a very proud man.' Son has been the pride of Asian football for years, the first player from the continent to become a genuine Premier League star, a legend at his club. There had been compatriot Park Ji-sung who won titles and respect during seven years at Manchester United, but he was never an automatic starter and, unfairly for a technically excellent and intelligent player, old Three Lungs was praised more for his running, work-rate and stamina. Shinji Kagawa looked like he may reach the next level at Old Trafford but was soon back in Germany. So it was Son, signed from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, who went on to appear on billboards in north London, Seoul and a lot of cities in between as one of the best-known faces of the world's best-known league. There were 173 goals in 454 competitive games, including the 2020 Puskás Award for that strike against Burnley. In the 2021-2022 season, he scored 23 in the league, sharing the golden boot with Mohamed Salah, another milestone for Asian football. When Harry Kane left Spurs for Bayern Munich, Son stayed and was made captain, and while last season was a relative struggle, for team and player, it ended on a high. Some thought he may stay for one more crack at the Champions League, after doing so much to help Spurs to the final in 2019, but it was not to be. In 2022, I went to Tottenham's sparkling training ground on the northern outskirts of the capital to present the Chuncheon-born native with the Best Footballer in Asia award, a trophy handed out by Titan Sports in China, a country that is not known for its love of Korean football but one that has the utmost respect for Elder Brother Son. He had received the prize in all but three of the 12 years since it became a thing. We discussed our favourite food from his homeland while he tried not to laugh at the Korean language attempts of Hugo Lloris in the next room as the goalkeeper recorded a video message to fans in the Land of the Morning Calm before the club's visit a few weeks later. Tottenham are there once more. 'It's very clear that Sonny will start and lead the team out as captain,' the new Tottenham manager Thomas Frank said. 'If that is the last game for Sonny, what a place to do it here in front of his home fans. It could be a beautiful ending.' And an emotional one. His Premier League performances will be missed in Korea, not least by those bars that hang huge televisions in their windows, showing Tottenham games with a tiny image of his smiling face in the top corner of the screen to show their idol is on the field. Playing time is a big thing for Korean fans after most of Son's predecessors struggled. Park Chu-young joined Arsenal in 2011 but managed just seven league minutes in the red and white corner of north London, inactivity that caused some resentment back home. Son's experience was the opposite. Playing regularly, becoming a star for so long and then captain at a major club also helped grow Tottenham's global fanbase. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion While European estimates of their fans in Asia are unconfirmed, it was claimed in 2022 that there were more than 12 million Spurs supporters in Korea. Whatever the accuracy of that number, there has never been such a popular player – Son has advertised more than 30 brands in his homeland – to play in such a popular league for such a length of time. Tottenham will need to find a way to build on his legacy in Korea and the rest of Asia. For now, though, they just have to find a way to live without Son on the pitch. And fans of the player on the world's biggest continent will also have to get used to Premier League action without the forward. A Chinese journalist once said that Son showed the world that Asia can produce a player as exciting as any from Africa or South America. As legacies go, that's pretty good.
