“These guys have to wait two hours once and they start whining. Then just don’t come. Stay away” – Van der Voort calls those threatening a boycott 'a bunch of babies'

The odds are fairly high that we will see fewer players from Great Britain at European Tour events across Europe in the coming months. For instance, at last week’s German Darts Grand Prix we already saw the likes of Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price, and Gary Anderson withdraw. This stems from a 'boycott' over long airport queues caused by Brexit.

One of the players prominently involved in this boycott is Jonny Clayton. Due to Brexit in February 2020, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland left the European Union. Since then, residents of those countries have had to queue at passport control at EU airports, which was not required before. This results in travel times that are sometimes hours longer for darters.

Vincent van der Voort, however, believes these darters shouldn’t complain and calls his former colleagues 'a bunch of babies.' “I’ve been travelling for 30 years—terrible airports, four or five-hour delays, being stuck at customs. During busy holiday periods you’d wait two or three hours. During COVID at Schiphol, you’d be standing 300 metres away from the check-in desk. These guys have to wait two hours once and they start whining. Then just don’t come. Stay away," he begins his account in the latest episode of the Darts Draait Door podcast.

He therefore takes a clear stance in this discussion. “Fine. Let’s see where they are in two years. That wouldn’t be good—but it would backfire on them quickly. You’d suddenly see a lot more Europeans in the top 16. Just wait and see how quickly it affects their rankings. I think Jonny Clayton earns at least €60,000–€70,000 per year on the Euro Tour. Take that away and look where he ends up.”

According to Van der Voort, the British players would mainly be shooting themselves in the foot with a potential boycott. “If he doesn’t play Euro Tours, he has to rely only on Pro Tours—and not in Europe either. Then see where he stands. No European Championship, no World Cup. But complaining? What do they expect—that Matt Porter goes to customs and says, 'These guys need to get through faster or they won’t come'? It doesn’t work like that."

Although the darters themselves can obviously do little about their country leaving the European Union, the Dutchman believes they just have to learn to live with it. “The customs situation is annoying—that’s fair. But boycotting? Who does that help? Yourself—and your own fans—only negatively. Accept that it can happen. It’s not every time. Last week I flew with Nathan Aspinall to Munich—he was through customs in half an hour. Only his suitcase wasn’t."