Darts star hospitalised after violence erupts at Belgian FA Cup final | Other | Sport
Darts star Kim Huybrechts was hospitalised with a fractured shoulder after being caught up in violence at the Belgian FA Cup final on Thursday evening. Antwerp’s defeat against Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels descended into chaos, with Huybrechts among those hurt.
The PDC player supports Antwerp and was at the King Baudouin Stadium supporting his team. They suffered a devastating 1-0 defeat due to Koki Machida’s goal on the stroke of half-time.
There were ugly scenes outside the stadium after the match. It is claimed that a group of Brussels locals, unrelated to either club, met Antwerp supporters outside the ground and tempers flared.
According to his wife, Dana Verhaegen, Huybrechts’ friend Kevin was attacked with a motorcycle helmet and as he tried to escape, the darts player was tackled to the ground before being punched and kicked. He managed to get away to where the buses for Antwerp fans were leaving, where he received help.
The 38-year-old’s injuries were sufficient enough for him to be taken to hospital. An X-Ray scan has since been shared showing the extent of a double fracture to the shoulder.
“As many have already heard, things went seriously wrong today during the cup final,” Verhaegen wrote on Facebook. “In a nutshell: Match end, Antwerp supporters walking along a path through a park in a crowd towards the buses. The line gets stuck due to the grim atmosphere.
“Kim and Kevin want to pass the line through an opening in the fence to get to the buses faster and are attacked from behind. Verdict: while Kim lay on the ground and took punches, he suffered a double fracture of the collarbone, unfortunately in his right arm.”
Images from the scan showed that Huybrechts had suffered a double fracture to his right shoulder. It was particularly unfortunate for the two-time Premier League Darts participant as that is his throwing arm.
Huybrechts is said to be set to undergo surgery on the injury, potentially keeping him out of action for a lengthy period. That will rule him out of a couple of major events.
The Belgian player’s most recent appearance came at the Players Championship where he was beaten by Ricardo Pietreczko. Huybrechts lost his first-round match at the World Darts Championship earlier this year. The year prior, he knocked out Peter Wright.
In February, he was handed a £1,500 fine by the Darts Regulation Authority after being found to have allegedly slapped Mike de Decker and told his Belgian team-mate that he will “destroy” him. The incident is alleged to have happened while they waited for a team bus to collect them for a tournament in Barnsley.
Huybrechts is yet to win a PDC title in his career. His best World Championship performance came in 2012 when he reached the quarter-final. He is a former UK Open and European Championship semi-finalist.
Ronny Huybrechts, his brother, is also a professional darts player.
