NATHAN ASPINALL faces a potential fine after he appeared to make a lewd gesture live on Sky Sports TV.
The Stockport thrower reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton as he beat Dutch qualifier Jermaine Wattimena 10-6.
However as he walked off the oche and down the stage stairs ahead of a mini advertising break, Aspinall was caught on camera making what appeared to be an inappropriate hand signal.
Once he realised he was being filmed, the former UK Open champion quickly stopped his behaviour.
He tried to laugh off the incident and motioned for the cameraman to stop filming before TV footage cut to an image of the crowd at the Aldersley Leisure Village.
Asked if he could expect a DRA fine, Aspinall said: “Yeah, probably.
“But it was no gest at Jermaine. It was purely the fact that is how I played in that second session.
“You know the sign? That’s how I played in my eyes. I did it, I shouldn’t have done it, it was one of those spur of the moment things. It is what it is. Nothing can I do now.”
When the television broadcast resumed after a short interval, Sky Sports commentator Rod Studd apologised to viewers for any offence it may have caused.
A clip of the incident, which has been circulated on Twitter, will now be reviewed by darts chiefs and Aspinall could be in trouble.
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A PDC spokesperson said: “The video will be referred to the Darts Regulation Authority, who are our disciplinary body.
“They will determine if any offence has been committed and apply any appropriate punishment.”
World No.12 Aspinall – who will now play Jonny Clayton or Alan Soutar in the last eight of the tournament – is one of the leading figures in the sport.
Yet over the past 12 months, he has struggled off the oche with an injury to his right throwing wrist.
At one point, the 31-year-old thought his career was over until he had a series of pain-relieving injections.
Michael van Gerwen overcame Josh Rock 10-8 despite the losing Northern Ireland thrower hitting a magical nine-darter in leg two.
