PDC president Barry Hearn hits back at Van Gerwen critical comments: "Out in a restaurant, going to a hotel - not the smartest move"

PDC President, Barry Hearn still takes a big role in the organisation despite retiring earlier on this year and handing responsibility onto his son, Eddie Hearn.

But ahead of the final, Hearn spoke to Sun Sport  and discussed the idea of postponing the tournament due to the Omicron outbreak and multiple players testing positive which was mooted by players but also fans alike.

“When I hear these people say postpone, they don’t really understand the sports business," he said to The Sun.

“It is not really a question of postpone, it’s a question of cancel or carry on.

“When you have an event, 17 or 18 days long, which is a global TV production, it’s too long an event to say to broadcasters: ‘Can you slip us in in a couple of weeks please?’

“The TV business doesn’t work like that. These people are ignorant. So we have to carry on. We have to battle through.

“In that regard, how good have the players been at the PDC? Ninety-five out of 96 have been double-vaccinated. The 96th player has had a single dose.

“Compare that to other sports, particularly football, it shows that they are really trying. Of course, they are self-isolating themselves, they are testing themselves regularly, and they are declaring when they fail.

He also responded to comments (above) made by Michael van Gerwen who was critical of the PDC after testing positive with Hearn saying mixing wasn't the best idea.

“We lost Michael van Gerwen — a big loss. We lost Vincent van der Voort. We lost Dave Chisnall. But I have to say it, hindsight is a wonderful adviser," he continued.

“I see on social media Vincent van der Voort and Michael van Gerwen out in a restaurant, going to a hotel. You know, not the smartest move, was it?”

“The crowd at the darts are safe because they all have to show they are double vaccinated. That is as far as we can go.

“They have all to show they have been tested in the last 24 hours. If not, we have a testing station on site.

“Now, is that perfect? No. We don’t live in a perfect world in case that has escaped everybody. We live in a world where somehow or another we have to get through this.

“Frankly, we are not going to get through this, whether it is a sporting or business asset, just by closing the doors.

“In 45 years I’ve done thousands upon thousands of events. I had 700 event days in 2021. But I have never come across anything like this in my life.