Hostile scenes at WDF Irish Classic as player takes on crowd, referee and squares up to his opponent
WDF
Away from the Grand Slam of Darts in the PDC came some completely different scenes as the WDF Irish Classic was taking place, featuring Kieran Lennon and Ronan McDonagh on the main stage, which was shown on stream in the Last 128, which saw one player take on the crowd, referee and his opponent.
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Lennon was about to throw at 3-2 down in the race to four, and McDonagh sat waiting on 111 to pencil the win with an 83 average at the time. A member of the crowd was speaking to Lennon, and he was heard audibly saying, 'Well, shut the fuck up then.'
Accused of dropping darts on the floor before heated clash
He further called them out to the referee, saying he had the right to tell them to do so. Lennon wanted to then get on with it, but the referee was having none of it, telling him to calm down after he asked if he should walk away. The official then said, 'You don't seem to drop your darts when you're throwing.'
In further context, Lennon reportedly had dropped his darts on the floor on three separate occasions all around the same time as McDonagh being on leg-winning doubles or combination outshots and had been accused of rattling his darts behind him and having a conversation while his opponent was throwing.
Lennon protested, saying he did it when he was throwing, and asked him if he was playing games to the referee, who said he was. He then seemingly forfeited the game, telling the referee to 'f*** off'. He then decided to inflame McDonagh, saying, 'Are you happy now?'. They then squared up, and Lennon shoulder-bargued with him before the referees stepped in and the camera cut away as the crowd could be heard in the background shouting.
McDonagh was on the verge anyway and was awarded the game by disqualification and moved through to the Last 64. A bit of handbags on the Oche today. The WDF will be all go heading towards Lakeside which starts on November 27th.
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From today in the WDF Irish Classic, this is incredible 56 seconds of pure cinema 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/KaDNjVzbYa
— Josh (@joshpearson180) November 15, 2026
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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