Never in my 22 years as a human being on this planet have I ever once come across an accusation of farting to gain an advantage in sport. But there is a first time for everything.
Gamesmanship takes many forms. In football we see shirt-pulling, simulation, a wall edging forward to defend a free kick. That sort of thing. In cricket, sportsmanship is sacrosanct, but there is always room for sledging: hammering away in the batsman's ear to put him off his shot. And in darts? What method could one possibly use to put themselves in a better position to win than their opponent?
It's a question I've never before pondered, but today I was given the answer, as Gary Anderson & Wesley Harms denied accusations of farting to intentionally leave off-putting 'rotten egg smells'.
Two-time Scottish world champion Anderson, 47, won Friday's match 10-2 to progress to the quarter-finals, but Dutchman Harms, 34, was quick to explain his sub-par performance by accusing Anderson of leaving a "fragrant smell".
He told Dutch TV station RTL7L: "It'll take me two nights to lose this smell from my nose."
https://twitter.com/Nozza_/status/1063718435811667969
Anderson reacted as if he had been accused of war crimes.
"If the boy thinks I've farted he's 1010% wrong. I swear on my children's lives that it was not my fault," he said.
"I had a bad stomach once on stage before and admitted it. So I'm not going to lie about farting on stage.
"Every time I walked past there was a waft of rotten eggs so that's why I was thinking it was him.
"It was bad. Usually if I fart on stage I sh*t myself.
It was a stink, then he started to play better and I thought he must have needed to get some wind out.
"If somebody has done that they need to see a doctor. Seemingly he says it was me but I would admit it."
We may never get to the bottom of this mystery, but one thing is for certain: never accuse Gary Anderson of farting unless you have concrete evidence. He doesn't take kindly to it.
UEFA have confirmed the possibility The team that finished 7th in the 2025/26 Premier League could still qualify for next season’s Champions League, as confirmed by UEFA. The likes of Liverpool and Chelsea face a serious uphill battle to ensure they make it into the Premier League top four or even top five, to guarantee […]
He was identified after entering the pitch to kick an opposing player. A football coach in Italy’s ninth division has made national headlines after being handed a four-month suspension for disguising himself as a priest to watch a match he was suspended from attending. As reported by Italian outlet Il Giorno, Matteo Ciceri — the UEFA […]
He has been called up to replace an injured player Following the addition of Harvey Barnes, Thomas Tuchel has had to make another change to his Three Lions squad for next week’s international matches. England play their final matches before the 2026 World Cup this month, as they take on Uruguay and Japan. While Tuchel […]