‘Sick of two sides’: darts boss attacks professional soccer

The relationship between darts and soccer in Germany is strained. In an interview with “Sport Bild the head of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), Matt Porter, has strongly criticized professional soccer. According to Porter, professional soccer in Germany suffers from a high degree of arrogance and a lack of transparency. At the same time, he said, soccer is also prone to financial corruption and characterized by a lack of spectators at the lower leagues.
The darts chief’s statements come just days before the start of the new darts season in Germany. Porter stressed in the interview that the PDC has made enormous progress in recent years and is now one of the leading sports federations in the world. In contrast, he says, professional soccer in Germany has lost ground in recent years and urgently needs reform to become more attractive again to spectators and sponsors.
But not everyone in darts shares Porter’s opinion. Some representatives of the sport have already been critical of the PDC chief’s statements, stressing that darts is still far from being on the same level as soccer. Nevertheless, Porter stands by his opinion and urges those in charge of German professional soccer not to turn a blind eye to the problems facing the sport.
In addition to criticizing professional soccer, Porter also highlighted positive developments in the sport of darts. The PDC, for example, has grown strongly in recent years and now also has numerous fans in countries such as Australia and the USA. The coming season in Germany promises exciting matches and some surprises – for darts as well as for soccer fans.

Who criticizes whom?

Criticism of professional soccer continues to grow. Now the head of the darts world federation, Barry Hearn, also intervenes. In an interview with the BBC Hearn attacks soccer and criticizes it as an unsustainable business model.

He thinks that soccer is ailing from two sides. On the one hand by the uncontrolled spending of the clubs and on the other hand by the attitude of the fans. Hearn thinks fans view soccer too much as a religion and accept everything that happens to their club, even though it’s not always sustainable.

Barry Hearn calls for soccer to focus more on a sustainable business model and take a cue from other sports. He believes that UEFA and FIFA’s control of spending is not enough and that the clubs themselves should ensure that their financial actions are sustainable.

• More criticized: professional football
• Critic: Barry Hearn, head of the World Darts Federation
• Criticisms include: unsustainable business model, uncontrolled spending by clubs, fans’ attitudes towards soccer
• Demand: more focus on sustainable business model, control of spending by clubs themselves

Professional soccer and its reaction to criticism

In a recent interview, Professional Darts Corporation boss Eddie Hearn was fiercely critical of professional soccer. According to Hearn, the sport of soccer is ailing from two sides – first, player misconduct, and second, a focus on profit and commercial interests.

The question that now arises is how professional soccer will respond to these allegations. Some soccer representatives have rejected the criticism, pointing out that every sport has its own problems. Others have seen the criticism as constructive and agreed to reform the industry and improve standards.

It remains to be seen whether professional soccer is able to respond to the criticism and improve its structures for the benefit of the sport and its fans. Perhaps it’s time for the industry to put the focus back on the game itself and bring the core values of the sport to the forefront.