Mensur Suljovic has denied deliberately provoking Joe Cullen during the World Darts Championship match, but the British player described his pace of play as “cheating” and “not darts”.
Suljovic came back from a set down to win 3-1 in the second round at Alexandra Palace, but Cullen remained furious at the Austrian’s on-stage behavior and slow play.
‘The Rockstar’ was so frustrated with the amount of time it took for his opponent to get his dart back and the length of time it took him to celebrate that referee Kirk Bevans was forced to intervene.
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Suljovic responds to accusations of deliberately slow play against Curren and explains why the referee sent him off
Immediately after the defeat, Cullen took to social media to criticize his opponent for stopping and giving him a stern look as he left the stage, but Suljovic insisted his actions were not intended to cause any trouble.
“I never did anything like this as a provocation,” Suljovic told a news conference shortly before Karen’s post. “I just do it for my game. I love my game. I’m never doing it to be the villain. I’m sorry, Joe, I would never do this. I love you.”
Karen said in ‘X’, “If it was darts, I didn’t want to be part of it! I always liked Mensour off the board and it was obvious to everyone!”
“I don’t think I’m the only one who feels this way. The old guard will say it’s part of the game, but put it however you want. It’s cheating. It’s not darts.”
Suljovic’s coach told Sky Sports News he had no comment when asked about the social media post, but added in a press conference that the 20th seed had not apologized to Cullen after the match.
“I have never apologized directly to Joe Cullen,” Suljovic added. “Never. I’m playing on stage, what’s his problem? I might feel sorry for the referee, but Joe Cullen? Never.
“Everyone plays differently, like, ‘You play this, you play this.’ I wait about 40 seconds for the first dart, and some people (throw gesture) and my head (gesture that the dart is about to hit the head). This is not OK.”
Durant: He didn’t break any rules.
Karen gave Suljovic a long look before leaving the Ally Pally stage.
Three-time Lakeside champion and former Premier League champion Glen Durrant said Suljovic had not broken any rules and admitted how he was able to use “gamesmanship” to defeat the fast-flowing Cullen.
Durant said, “You know what Mensur Suljovic is trying to do, and we try to express that in commentary as well. He can go from playing very slow to playing very fast, and maybe he saw a chink in Joe Cullen’s armor.”
“I saw Joe hold his temper admirably throughout that game and understand both sides of the argument. Sometimes we use social media too much, but maybe in the moment.”
“He did not break any rules. The referees discussed the issue with Mensour during the match and dealt with it perfectly.
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Suljovic appeared to be reprimanded by referee Kirk Bevins for taking too long to celebrate…
“The bottom line is Joe Cullen had three set darts in that third set. He won the set with an average of 79. That should upset Joe Cullen more than he let on in terms of gamesmanship.”
Two-time world champion John Peart added: “I can understand why he (Cullen) was frustrated. Yeah, I’ve felt that way many times playing against slower players. The bottom line is you can either deal with it or you can’t deal with it, and good players can.”
“I think Joe was probably more upset when it all ended. He really couldn’t handle it internally. Normally he would have. Normally he would have laughed at Mensour’s (Srujovic) antics and thought, ‘What do you think you can do there?’ Today, for some reason, it worked out.”
“Everything went wrong for Joe. Mensour hit the double he was supposed to hit, made the shot and was fine. It was a really tough day at the office for Joe.”
Was it a missed opportunity for Karen?
Cullen has never advanced beyond the fourth round in his 16 World Championship appearances, and believes five-time World Championship semi-finalist Wayne Mardle was more frustrated by his own performance than by Suljovic’s slow play.
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Wayne Mardle and John Peart talk about Joe Cullen’s anger over Mensur Suljovic’s antics in the second round
“Joe was at a loss because he was frustrated because of his own play and was just frustrated with Mensour’s (Srujovic) antics,” Mardle told Sky Sports. “Mensour was slow. I was watching and thinking, ‘Well, Mensour, you’re slow.’ Mensour has been doing the same thing for decades.
“I understand why Joe was frustrated, but he was even more frustrated with his performance and losing by an average of 80 points. He’s going to be angry, frustrated, frustrated – whatever, but that was a very winnable game.”
“Mensour won’t have a worse match at this year’s World Championships and he beat Joe. That’s why Joe is angry, frustrated and frustrated.”
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