“Hopefully your mother dies of cancer and the rest of your family too” — Danny Noppert faces barrage of social media abuse after Leverkusen loss
PDCSunday, 12 July 2026 at 08:58
Danny Noppert has responded candidly on social media to a particularly offensive message he received after his 6-3 defeat to Sebastian Bialecki in the second round of the European Darts Open.
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The Dutch darter was confronted after his exit with a shocking private message on Instagram, in which a user wrote: “Hopefully your mother dies of cancer and the rest of your family too.”
Emotional response
The crude and disrespectful reaction hit Noppert hard. The Frisian chose not to leave the message unanswered and shared an emotional reply explaining why such remarks cut especially deep. “I always strive for the best and always want to win. Unfortunately that doesn’t always happen,” Noppert wrote. “And sometimes there are those crazies who lost money betting and think they have to leave a message.”
He then revealed something deeply personal. “And sadly I did indeed lose my mother to cancer. And that will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
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A particularly painful nerve struck
With those words, Noppert made clear that the anonymous sender unknowingly struck a particularly painful nerve. His mother passed away from cancer, making the curse in the message all the more confronting and hurtful.
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The rise of online betting in recent years has led to an increase in hate messages directed at elite athletes. Fans — or more often bettors who have lost money — regularly vent their frustrations on athletes via social media after disappointing performances. Such messages have become a known problem across the sports world, with athletes from various disciplines increasingly reporting online harassment and threats.
Darts players are also frequently targeted by such abuse. With his response, Noppert shows that behind the performances stands a human being, with personal experiences and grief that does not fade.
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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