Gerwyn Price to contest record £21,500 fine from his Grand Slam of Darts final triumph
Gerwyn Price has revealed he is contesting the record fine of £21,500 he received for his conduct during the 2018 Grand Slam of Darts.
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Back in January, the Welshman was slapped with the unprecedented punishment by the Darts Regulation Authority, which also included a three-month suspended sentence, after it was deemed his actions during his controversial final victory over Gary Anderson - and also in his last-eight encounter against Simon Whitlock - "were very serious and went beyond what was acceptable" and that he was "overly aggressive in his behaviour in his matches".
Price, who become the crowd's pantomime villain since that unforgettable night in Wolverhampton, was find £8,000 for the quarter-final, £12,000 for the final and a further £1,500 for his social media comments, while should he breach any of the new DRA Rules up to and including July 11 this year, he will be banned from competing for three months.
The former rugby player initially struggled to deal with the boos that followed and was in an understandably subdued mood at the start of this season but he's since rallied to win two Players Championship titles, reach the semi-finals of the UK Open and also put himself well in the mix for a Unibet Premier League play-off spot.
In the latest edition of the Darts Show podcast, Price has chosen to speak openly of his feelings about the final and the fine, saying: "I was shocked at what had happened, not only that I had a fine but that Gary [Anderson] had absolutely nothing.
"Not just one player, not just Phil [Taylor] but every single player said that it was unfair, so it's something that has gone wrong there and obviously it's being dealt with by the right people now.
"Hopefully it will get changed, but if not then I'm going to re-appeal again and it will go to the High Courts, so whatever happens will happen.
"My appeal has gone in now, it went in two weeks ago so whatever the DRA come back with - even if I have a £1,000 fine I'm still going to be fighting that. I don't think I deserve to have any fine at all, we were both on the oche; my game is always the same.
"It's never changed and it's never going to change so I don't want a £1,000 fine, I don't even want a £100 fine.
"After the Masters when I was in my shell a little bit, I thought I'm just going to be myself and whatever happens, happens.
"I've been myself, I've been the same player ever since and before the fine. I haven't had any more fines so I don't understand why I had the first one."
Although Price still gets frosty receptions during the stage and televised events, he has won over a good chunk of supporters thanks to a string of superb and entertaining performances this season.
Regarding the boos, he admitted: "It's not nice. You try and say it doesn't bother you and to a certain extent it didn't, but when you are going for vital doubles to win legs and to win matches, that's when it really hurts you.
"I just stuck with it and didn't really interact with the crowd when they're booing because it can get a lot worse, so I've just let my darts do the talking.
"I've played pretty well which helps, because if you're playing badly they'll get on top of you even more, but I've been playing well and winning games so that sort of keeps them quiet."
On Thursday night he should feel the unusual sensation of being a crowd favourite when the Premier League heads to the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff.
Price is one of four players tied on 12 points (scroll down for full table) in the race to qualify for Finals Night at The O2 while his opponent Michael Smith badly needs himself as he's four behind in eighth spot.
The world number seven told www.pdc.tv: "I'm looking forward to it more than any other week, it will be a great feeling to play in front of a Welsh crowd. I'm so used to being booed I won't know how to take it! I may still get a few boos but I think the majority of the fans will be on my side.
"Obviously it will be a very different environment for me but hopefully I will thrive on the support as well as I cope with the negativity against me most weeks.
"I'm going into Cardiff in a good run of form, I'm feeling confident as ever and I'm determined to put another two points on the board.
"I really want to get into the top four. I need to win every game from here on in, I've got Michael [van Gerwen] out of the way and managed to get a point from that game.
"I'm just looking to beat everybody else in front of me and hopefully I can kick-on now and make a charge towards The O2 for the first time."
Night 12 Fixtures (Sky Sports 1900 GMT)
- Mensur Suljovic v Daryl Gurney
- Rob Cross v Michael van Gerwen
- Michael Smith v Gerwyn Price
- Peter Wright v James Wade
2019 Premier League Darts Table
- Cross P 11 W 8 D 1 L 2 LegD +23 Pts 17
- Van Gerwen P 11 W 7 D 2 L 2 LegD +27 Pts 16
- Wade P 11 W 4 D 4 L 3 LegD +8 Pts 12
- Price P 11 W 4 D 4 L 3 LegD +2 Pts 12
- Suljovic P 11 W 5 D 2 L 4 LegD +1 Pts 12
- Gurney P 11 W 5 D 2 L 4 LegD -2 Pts 12
- Wright P 11 W 2 D 5 L 4 LegD -8 Pts 9
- Smith P 11 W 3 D 2 L 6 LegD -11 Pts 8
- Relegated: Van Barneveld P 9 W 1 D 2 L 6 LegD -22 Pts 4
Click here for 2019 Premier League darts fixtures, venues and results