Stephen Bunting has expressed his frustration after crowd behaviour marred his European Darts Trophy defeat to Niko Springer in Göttingen, admitting he felt "really hurt" by whistling directed at him during the match. The Englishman lost 6-5 to the German in a dramatic deciding-leg contest on Saturday evening, but the sporting result was overshadowed by repeated whistles from a small section of the crowd that disrupted key moments. Referee Huw Ware was forced to intervene to warn spectators, while stage MC Philip Brzezinski also criticised the behaviour afterwards.
Bunting shared his thoughts in a detailed Instagram response, writing, "Just got back to the hotel after my loss tonight to Niko Springer. Firstly I want to say congratulations to Niko, he played a great game and deserved the win." He highlighted the demanding schedule, noting, "We set off from Nottingham on Friday morning at 7:30am after the Premier League night in Nottingham and arrived in Göttingen later that day." Despite the travel and defeat, Bunting made clear the result wasn't his main frustration: "I never moan about defeats or cry about them, but I feel really hurt tonight even though it was only a small minority of people." He added, "To boo and whistle at important times through any match isn't acceptable and if you want to do that then go to a football match."
While criticising the crowd, Bunting was careful to respect his opponent, writing, "Nothing at all against Niko Springer. He played a great match but the whistling spoilt the game." Springer himself later addressed the issue, saying he felt "a bit ashamed" about the treatment Bunting received. Bunting also suggested the situation may explain why some players are reluctant to travel, stating, "I understand why players don't travel over here for the whistling." This echoes previous remarks from Luke Littler about hostile receptions from German crowds, and while there's no suggestion crowd behaviour was behind it, several high-profile players including Littler, Luke Humphries and Nathan Aspinall were absent from this weekend's event in Göttingen.
Bunting reflected on the broader impact, saying, "I'm proud to represent the sport wherever I play, but moments like tonight make it difficult." He ended his message by thanking supporters: "Thank you to everyone who supports me week in, week out." The incident in Göttingen has reignited debate about crowd atmosphere on the PDC's European Tour, particularly in Germany where loud support sometimes crosses into disruptive behaviour.
