Deta Hedman withdraws from WDF World Masters fearing possible sanctions from WDF

Deta Hedman has decided not to compete in the 2024 WDF World Masters next month in Hungary, she reported on her Facebook. She runs the risk of being sanctioned by the WDF in Hungary.

The World Darts Federation (WDF) recently announced that they may start penalizing players when they withdraw during a tournament. ''Once the first dart is thrown in a tournament, any player who subsequently withdraws from a match may be considered to bring the sport into disrepute and face disciplinary action,'' the statement on the WDF website began. ''This position has been taken to protect our member countries, their tournaments and tournament sponsors and to preserve the integrity of the WDF ranking system,'' the association said.

This year, Hedman has already withdrawn several times from women's tournaments because she refused to play against a transgender player. 'The Heart of Darts' is considered a vocal opponent of the admission of transgender players to the women's circuit.

This summer, Hedman again spoke out against the admission of transgender people to women's tournaments. ''I have no problems with trans people, but I think they should play in an open section,'' Hedman wrote, accompanied by a selection of photos that she said support her assertion. "I wondered why it is that the rule makers in IOC, WDF and DRA are predominantly men. They completely ignore the many and varied problems unique to women,'' the three-time Lakeside finalist wrote in a Facebook post.

Hedman also subsequently decided not to make herself available for the England team at the WDF Europe Cup. In a message on Facebook, she announced that "she has taken this decision with pain in her heart and the reasons behind it will be announced later. Hedman further states that "the welfare of English darts is paramount."

So now Hedman has also made the decision not to compete in the World Masters as well. ''Made the heartbreaking decision last night that I will not be playing in the WDF World Masters in Hungary, this truly is an amazing dart tournament with players from around the world attending , every player who has the chance to play in this event should experience it at least once,'' Hedman begins. "With the recent WDF announcement on not fulfilling matches , I have decided I can't give a 100% guarantee on that matter as my mental health is pretty shot right now. Waiting so long to enter meant flights very expensive and hotel prices and still don't know if I would be in a position that would trigger another mini breakdown."

The Englishwoman is sorry for the organization that she cannot participate. ''Hope everyone that attends has a fantastic tournament and apologise in advance to the Hungarian Darts Federation , they know how much I love going to their events and have done so for years, Budapest is an absolute amazing city and you will love it."