Rob Cross faces DRA punishment after lewd gesture in World Championship loss | Other | Sport
Rob Cross is facing a punishment from the Darts Regulation Authority after performing a lewd gesture during his World Championship defeat on Monday evening. The former world champion was knocked out of the tournament after losing 3-1 to his close friend Scott Williams in the second round.
Cross, who won the title in 2018 after getting the better of Phil Taylor in the showpiece match, took the first set against Williams at Alexandra Palace.
But the momentum soon shifted as his opponent won three sets on the bounce to set up a third round showdown with Ricardo Pietreczko.
Cross, who was seeded fifth after reaching the semi-finals last season, was clearly having a tough time up on the Ally Pally stage and stared down the crowd at one point.
He then formed a loose grip with his right hand, raised it up to his face and moved it from side to side as he pushed his cheek out with his tongue.
The incident was caught on the Sky Sports cameras and could land the 34-year-old in hot water with the darts authorities.
Cross’ defeat means a record 14 seeds have now exited the tournament, with No. 6 seed David Chisnall sent packing by Ricky Evans in the previous match.
No. 2 seed Michael Smith, No. 13 seed Danny Noppert and No. 14 seed Gary Anderson all fell at the second round stage over the weekend.
Cross isn’t the only player to court controversy on the Ally Pally stage. His second round nemesis Williams forced Sky Sports into an apology last year following comments he made in the aftermath of his third round victory over German thrower Martin Schindler.
Following the match, he told the broadcaster: “I’ve never had the crowd on my side like that. I know we won two World Wars and one World Cup but that was… the German fans in here were huge.”
He later took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote: “I was advised to come off social media, just X, what I said in the last interview on stage was stupid, genuinely stupid.
“The guys from Germany know I love Germany. My deepest apologies to anyone who took offence, I have had a lot of messages from people who haven’t taken offence, but that has gone now and I am looking forward to [my next match on] Monday.”
Williams, who is ranked No. 37 in the world, has established quite the following at Ally Pally after pulling off a no-look 180 last year and attempting to karate chop a wasp on stage during his run to the semi-finals. He will go head-to-head with Pietreczko in the afternoon session on Saturday.
