“Whistlers should get banned for five years” – Nathan Aspinall calls for tougher sanctions against crowd members who cross the line

Nathan Aspinall has spoken out against a growing issue in professional darts. The Englishman is calling for long-term bans for spectators who whistle while players are setting up for a throw. According to Aspinall, the behavior undermines the sport and has a direct impact on matches at the highest level.

Whistling has become increasingly common at major PDC tournaments in recent years, including the ongoing 2026 PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace. While singing, cheering, and booing have long been part of the darts atmosphere, players see whistling as crossing a line. It disrupts concentration at crucial moments, especially in a sport where margins are razor-thin.

Aspinall is not the first to raise the topic. Earlier, Ricardo Pietreczko called for stricter control inside venues, while Mike De Decker, after his defeat to crowd favourite David Munyua, pointed to fan behaviour in the stands. However, Aspinall went a step further and argued for structural sanctions.

Ahead of his third round at the World Darts Championship, which he lost to Kevin Doets, Aspinall spoke out in an interview with The Sun. “I’ve said in EuroTours, in my on-stage interviews, will you just stop whistling, enjoy the darts, stop being muppets,” said the two-time World Championship semi-finalist.

According to Aspinall, calling it out only backfires. “It’s then gone over Instagram and TikTok, saying: ‘Nathan lashes out at the crowd…,” he said. “People will see that but does that encourage them? Because they know they’re winding the players up. You sit in silence, you don’t do anything, it’ll continue. You speak out, you say something, it’ll continue."

The Englishman acknowledges that enforcement is difficult in an arena with thousands of attendees. “How do you monitor 10,000 people from sticking their fingers in their mouth to whistle?” he wondered aloud.

Still, Aspinall sees a clear solution. “So, what can be done? I think the people that get caught shouldn’t just get kicked out, they should get banned for say five years. Something where they’re going to feel the effects of what they’ve done. Then, once a few of them start doing it, hopefully they’ll go: ‘I’m absolutely gutted, I can’t go to the darts, I got a five-year ban from whistling, trust me, don’t do it.’"

He believes such a measure would have an effect over time. “I bet it might take a couple of years but maybe that could be something."

Aspinall stresses this isn’t about small details. “A lot of darts games are determined by the crowd. The standard is that close. Missing one dart at double 16 on a 109 could lose you that game. And then some k***head whistles."

The Englishman concludes with a clear message. “Unless you tape everyone’s mouths shut when they walk in. I just think that if you give people bans once they get kicked out then it might change things.”