A PROFESSIONAL darts player suffered a bloody broken nose when he was headbutted in the face by a football hooligan following the Reds’ victory over Sheffield United on Saturday.
Norwich darts star Darren Webster - ranked number 17 in the world - had just been knocked out of a tournament at the Metrodome and was walking back into the town centre at about 3pm when he was attacked, apparently by a Barnsley fan.
“I play in Barnsley probably four or five times a year, I’ve never had anything like this before,” Darren told the Chronicle this week.
“I couldn’t believe it, the thing I can’t get my head around is, Barnsley actually won. I don’t know what would have happened if they’d lost, I might not have been coming home.”
Darren was walking towards town with three friends after being knocked out of the Players Championship Seven at the Metrodome. He had made it through to the last 32 of the PDC event, but lost 6-5 to Max Hopp.
The derby between the Reds and Sheffield United had kicked off early at 12.15 and had long-since finished when Darren and his friends walked across the Jumble Lane level crossing.
“There weren’t that many people around, most of the football crowd had gone,” he said. “We’d just come over the railway line, about ten yards passed it, when I heard this shout of ‘are you Sheffield supporters’. There was some swearing among it as well of course.
“I said no, no, no, we’ve come from the darts, I’m a darts player’.
“I’d got a coat on, but I’d got my darts shirt on under it, so I went to undo it to show him, and as I looked down, that’s when he headbutted me.
“It was just crazy. Straight away there was blood pouring out.”
Darren, 49, said his attacker, who ran off, was probably a similar age to him, but the group of six or seven he was with were much younger.
“We’d told them we weren’t there for the football, I honestly believe he just wanted to hurt somebody, and impress these younger lads he was with.”
Darren, known as the demolition man, put up with the pain and went back to his room at the Holiday Inn at Dodworth rather than going to the hospital.
He decided the ‘show must go on’ and retuned to the Metrodome the following day to take part in the Players Championship Eight. But he lost 6-3 to Robert Marijanovic in his first match. It wasn’t until he returned home to Norwich that night that he went to hospital, where it was confirmed his nose was broken.
“It’s very painful, but there’s nothing they can really do with it. It’s just got to heal by itself.”
Darren said the attack put him well and truly off his game on the Sunday. His technique involves touching his darts to his nose before he throws them.
“I’m one of only a few players on the circuit that does it. It was painful. I kept doing it, but it got to the stage I was thinking about that more than throwing the arrows.”
Darren has a strong East Anglia accent, but despite being very obviously not local said he had always felt very welcome in his many visits to Barnsley.
“I’ve been playing at the Metrodome for years, I often go out for a meal at the Grill Pit or something like that.
“It won’t stop me coming up, I’ll have to because there’s lots of tournaments here. It does make you think twice about going out though.”
Darren is hoping his nose recovers in time for tournaments in Austria and Germany, and he is due to be back in Barnsley later this year.
A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: “A report of assault was made to police on Saturday at around 3.10pm. A 48-year-old man, originally from Norwich, was walking along May Day Green, Barnsley, when he was reportedly confronted by a man. The man is then said to have assaulted him, headbutting him and leaving him with facial injuries.
“Enquiries remain ongoing to identify the offender and any witnesses. Anyone with information should call 101 quoting incident number 669 of April 7.”
