Stompé recalls late Fitzmaurice: "He was absolutely not an objective referee"

Martin Fitzmaurice passed away five years ago at the age of 75. Co Stompé looked back on the iconic Master of Ceremonies on the podcast 'Everybody Loves The Darts'.

He was regularly involved at Lakeside for 25 years as well as many other majors but Stompé has memories both good and bad.

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"He had an amazing sense of humour and knew how to entertain a lot of people. However, he was also a dictator, he thought he owned all the darts tournaments and had power over everything and everyone. But then he had a bad customer the Dutch who, unlike most English players, did not let themselves be taught," said Stompé.

Not an objective referee

He also discussed how despite being in the job he was in, he wasn't objective and would use mind games.

"He was absolutely not an objective referee. Martin Adams was a great friend of his. If you had to play against Adams, Fitzmaurice would start nagging you half an hour before the game to deliberately screw you up. I was too nice for it myself, but I've seen several players walk out angry," Stompé laughs.