There was drama at the Darts Premier League on Thursday night, as Joe Cullen and Gary Anderson clashed after their quarter-final match in Rotterdam.
At one stage, Anderson led 5-3, but Cullen completed a stunning comeback to win 6-5 and progress to the last four.
After the match, cameras picked up the two arguing, with Cullen revealing in his post-match interview that Anderson had called him a "cheat".
Joe Cullen: Clash with Gary Anderson after incredible quarter-final comeback
Joe Cullen had a night to remember in Rotterdam on Thursday - but it started in acrimonious style after his match against Gary Anderson in the quarter-final.
Cullen came from 5-3 down to win 6-5 in a thrilling comeback, and would go on to win the final against Michael van Gerwen in thrilling circumstances.
Joe Cullen gets the job done 💪 pic.twitter.com/P0tghdCjO5
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) March 24, 2022
After their quarter-final clash, Anderson and Cullen were seen arguing on stage, and Cullen even briefly followed his opponent to continue their disagreement.
It was a disappointing end to a thrilling game, but tensions had been simmering throughout the match.
Apparently Anderson said something about Cullen needing a hair transplant and he didn’t take it too kindly. pic.twitter.com/rjPFkM7xFl
— DartsAnonymous (@anonymous_darts) March 24, 2022
After the day's action, Cullen spoke to the press.
He revealed to German and Dutch media that the disagreement had stemmed from Anderson calling him a "cheat".
For want of a better expression, he called me a "cheat."
Joe Cullen on being called a cheat by Gary Anderson pic.twitter.com/4YNSioytkx
— DartsAnonymous (@anonymous_darts) March 25, 2022
He went into more detail in the post-match press conference, where he detailed their discussion and his disappointment with his more experienced opponent.
I'm not a cheat. You can tell the people who are cheats. If they get accused of something, they just let it go and say "I'm not bothered" or whatever.
I'm a lot of things but I'm not a cheat. I won't be called a cheat by any player, doesn't matter who it is.
Maybe it was a bit of a heat of the moment thing on Gary's part, I don't know what he was on about. I at first thought he called me "lucky" and I thought, well that's fair enough.
But I asked him what he said and he told me...he said "you know what you did." I did nothing.
Gary's a great professional, he's a great ambassador for the sport but I think he let himself down tonight.
I could understand it if I'd done something. I'm the first to admit if I've done something wrong. I've never, ever cheated at a game of darts in my life.
Anderson has been known to clash with other players on stage down through the years, something that only seems to be becoming more frequent in recent times.
On the other hand, Cullen is not someone who holds a similar reputation.
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