Van Barneveld criticized after no handshake with Anderson: ''It's Raymond's fault, one hundred percent''

The striking moment between Raymond van Barneveld and Gary Anderson after their match at the World Grand Prix does not go unmentioned. According to former top darter Vincent van der Voort, the responsibility for the missed hand moment lies entirely with his compatriot.

In the latest episode of the Darts Draait Door podcast, Van der Voort makes no bones about the World Grand Prix moment. "It's Raymond's fault, one hundred percent. Anderson throws out, walks to the board and back again. But there Raymond stood at his table still packing his stuff and he didn't look at anyone. He does that more often, which makes you like Anderson is waiting. Then he decided to just let Raymond wait his turn."

According to Van der Voort, there is no doubt who should have made the first move. "The principle of shaking hands is that as a loser you congratulate the winner. Of course, it's not like you come asking for a hand as a winner to be congratulated. Raymond is just supposed to walk right up to Anderson. Give him a hand, the umpires, put your stuff away and walk off the stage. That's the principle."
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The former pro thinks it's a shame that the incident takes attention away from what was precisely one of the stronger matches of the opening round from a sporting point of view. "It was a really good match, also from Raymond," Van der Voort stressed. Still, he says it comes as no surprise that there was no cordiality to be seen afterwards. "They have nothing in common, never had either. It's not a blood hate or anything like that either."

Van der Voort does understand the Scot's reaction. "He then stands there as a winner for half a minute. This stems from the fact that other players also know that Raymond does this more often. They see that and are irritated by it as well. Anderson then thinks Raymond can also wait for him, but then again he doesn't feel like it."

According to the Dutchman, Van Barneveld is making the incident bigger than it needs to be. "It all doesn't have to be so complicated. Anderson just does not accept that he makes him wait so long. It's all not that exciting, but it comes across badly."

That Van Barneveld lost the game, according to Van der Voort, fits a pattern he has recognized with his good friend for some time. "The whole match it seemed like Anderson was more fired up than Raymond, who was more hoping and seeing what it became. That's also what made the difference in the match; Raymond's mentality and that negative."

Van der Voort knows Van Barneveld inside out and sees a big difference with the man who was once one of the most feared darters in the world. "Before, it didn't occur to him that he could lose if he got his prey. Now it's an insecure person on stage. It's more hoping than really believing he can win. He has hardly won any matches at majors in the last two or three years, so it's also not surprising that he gets insecure. But he did have the level to beat Anderson, too bad it just fell short."