(VIDEO) Should there be VAR in darts? Gary Anderson disagrees with Kirk Bevins as referee declares throw invalid

There was a notable moment on Sunday night in the semifinal between England and Scotland at the 2024 World Cup of Darts. In the tenth leg of the match, referee Kirk Bevins declared a throw by Gary Anderson invalid.

Anderson was allowed to aim on double 18 with three arrows in hand. His first arrow ended up under the double 18 in the single, forcing "The Flying Scotsman" to switch to the double 9. At that double too, Anderson missed on the inside, failing to get a third dart at a double. With visible frustration, the two-time world champion threw his third arrow into the single 1 to leave double 4 for his teammate Peter Wright. In doing so, however, Anderson went awry according to the referee. Bevins felt that Anderson's left foot was already past the oche line when he released the arrow. According to the rules, that is not allowed.

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Bevins applied rule 5.7.3 of the rulebook. It states the following: During a player's throw, no player shall tread on any part of the raised oche nor shall the player deliver any dart whilst their feet are in a position other than grounded on the floor behind the toe edge of the raised oche. Where this section is breached, the score from the thrown dart will not count towards the score.

Anderson, however, disagreed with referee Bevins' decision and entered into an argument with him. Bevins was unmoved, however, and stood by his decision not to allow Anderson's last dart to count. 'The Flying Scotsman' then gestured with his hands that he would have liked the help of the VAR.

Later in the evening, Bevins came forward via X with reaction to the incident. ''Darts referees make judgment calls based on what we see at the oche. If someone is throwing a dart away while walking, the referee has to make a quick decision. If you want every dart to count, make sure both feet are behind the oche rather than walking and relying on VAR."

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SCOTLAND BATTLING AWAY! Gary Anderson is calling for VAR intervention, but it makes no difference now, as Peter Wright keeps his cool to hold throw for Scotland! 📺 bit.ly/24WCODLive #WorldCupofDarts | SF2

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Kirk Bevins

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Darts referees make judgment calls based on what we see at the oche. If someone is throwing a dart away while walking, the referee has to make a quick decision. If you want every dart to count, make sure both feet are behind the oche rather than walking and relying on VAR.

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