Van Barneveld calls out lack of 'appreciation' from PDC: "Apparently we Dutch people do that"

Referee Russ Bray was treated to a box of chocolate and a bottle of wine by RTL reporter Arjan van der Giessen on Thursday because The Voice of Darts had started its 25th World Darts Championship as a referee.

This was to the surprise of Bray, who himself was unaware of this anniversary. After all, the PDC had not paid any attention to this either. Raymond van Barneveld had joined the RTL studio on Thursday evening and said that he had already noticed that the PDC does nothing with special milestones.

“The PDC is not using pennants and certificates. If someone has played 150 or 100 Premier League matches, like Taylor or me, nothing has been with that'', said the five-time world champion.

Van Barneveld then gives football as an example where such a thing does occur. Players receive a souvenir when the played hundred matches for the Dutch national team. Some Eredivisie (Dutch league) clubs also give a player a framed football shirt when a specific player played hundred matches for that club.

"Apparently we Dutch people do that, I like that'', Van Barneveld continued. ''The PDC completely ignores that. I think that's a shame actually. That is something as a sign of appreciation for people who are committed to the sport.''