Vincent van der Voort has launched a scathing attack on British darts players threatening to boycott European Tour events over long airport queues caused by Brexit, labelling them "a bunch of babies." The Dutch veteran, speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast, dismissed complaints about travel delays, stating: "These guys have to wait two hours once and they start whining. Then just don't come. Stay away."
The controversy stems from Brexit in February 2020, when England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland left the European Union, requiring residents of those countries to queue at passport control at EU airports. This has resulted in travel times sometimes hours longer for players. At last week's German Darts Grand Prix, withdrawals included Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price, and Gary Anderson, with Jonny Clayton cited as one player prominently involved in the boycott discussion.
Van der Voort, drawing on 30 years of travel experience, argued that delays are nothing new. "I've been travelling for 30 years—terrible airports, four or five-hour delays, being stuck at customs. During busy holiday periods you'd wait two or three hours. During COVID at Schiphol, you'd be standing 300 metres away from the check-in desk," he said. He believes a boycott would backfire on British players, predicting: "Let's see where they are in two years. You'd suddenly see a lot more Europeans in the top 16. Just wait and see how quickly it affects their rankings."
The Dutchman specifically pointed to Clayton's potential losses, estimating: "I think Jonny Clayton earns at least €60,000–€70,000 per year on the Euro Tour. Take that away and look where he ends up." He added that skipping European events would also jeopardize qualification for majors like the European Championship and World Cup, forcing reliance solely on Pro Tours. Van der Voort concluded that players must accept the situation, noting that delays aren't universal—he recently flew with Nathan Aspinall to Munich where Aspinall cleared customs in half an hour, though his suitcase did not arrive.
