Not all of the top-ranked players at this year’s World Darts Championship are in agreement about the severity of the punishment Leighton Bennett received after being found guilty of match-fixing charges.
Bennett was set for a bright future in darts having become the youngest-ever BDO youth champion at the age of 13 back in 2019.
He also beat darts icon Phil Taylor that same year and won a card on the PDC Tour for this season.
But the teenager has now been banned from playing darts professionally for the next eight years after being found guilty of 10 charges for fixing four matches in the Modus Super Series in 2023.
Leighton Bennett has been banned for eight years
PA
The Darts Regulation Authority also punished Billy Warriner by banning him for 10 years for his role in fixing the four matches.
Van Gerwen, who enters the World Darts Championship as the No 3 seed, is happy to see the sport come down hard on such offences.
“I completely agree. I’m not shocked by it, I think it’s totally justified,” he said.
“I think more things happened after that that couldn’t go through. That it added up and they want to deal with this rock hard.
“How can they do that? By punishing rock hard. This sets an example.”
World No 1 Luke Humphries agreed with his rival, insisting it sets an example for others who might be tempted by match-fixing.
Humphries said: “Silly, silly boy. We want to ban that kind of thing from the sport. This shouldn’t even occur to you to do.
“If you also deny it and are found guilty, then you have to live with the harshest measures. Hopefully this will keep all match-fixing players away. Integrity is important in our sport.”
However, James Wade has suggested the punishment dished out to Bennett is too harsh.
James Wade feels the punishment was too harsh
GETTY
“I have not been avoiding sporting news channels, so I am aware of the eight-year ban given to Leighton Bennett by the Darts Regulation Authority for match fixing,” he said in his column for the Daily Star.
“Now, I don’t know all the details but Leighton has been found guilty and he should be punished. However, I just think the eight-year ban is harsh.
“With this ban at just 18 years old, his professional darts career is effectively over.
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Luke Humphries is supportive of the punishment
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“He has gone from darts prodigy to losing everything based on a misguided decision. I don’t personally know Leighton, but I hope there is a duty of care in place and someone is keeping an eye on him.
“I know he parted ways with his manager last year and if he has been badly advised, or left to his own devices to make these wrong decisions, then surely there should be an opportunity for rehabilitation.
“It happens in other sports, such as athletics and boxing, where a two or three-year ban is imposed, and that person is given one final chance to put it right. He has put his whole life into darts and it is a shame he’s not going to get another opportunity at it.”
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