Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports
Topics: World Darts Championship, Darts
Josh Lawless
Mensur Suljovic has responded to Joe Cullen after he accused the Austrian of "cheating" in their second round clash at the World Darts Championship.
Suljovic beat Cullen 3-1 in a heated fixture in Sunday's afternoon session at Alexandra Palace.
Cullen, who was spiky in the press conference following his first round win over Bradley Brooks, was not happy with the amount of time Suljovic took to retrieve his darts after throwing at the board - while he also appeared frustrated at the length of his celebrations.
At one point, the referee Kirk Bevins had to give Suljovic a warning because of how long he was taking.
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The two shared a handshake when Suljovic secured the winner but tension remained and after shaking his head while going to pick up his darts case, Cullen was seen glaring before walking off stage.
After being eliminated at the second round stage for the second consecutive year, he immediately took to social media to call out Suljovic for his antics, calling it "cheating".
"If that’s darts, I don’t want no part of it!" he wrote on X.
"Always liked Mensur away from the board but that was plain for all to see!
"I don’t think I’m alone in feeling this way. The old guard will say it’s part of the game but word it how you will - it’s CHEATING! That’s not darts."
In a post-match interview with Sky Sports, Suljovic had praised Cullen, giving him "respect" and stating that he "liked him".
He called him a "very nice guy" in his press conference but refused to apologise to 'The Rockstar' for what was perceived to be gamesmanship, commenting: "I like Joe Cullen. [He is] a "very nice guy". No I never played slow. I'm three minutes from my game - I stay every time here. I never do this for provocation - I do it only for my game.
"I like my game. I'm never doing this for him. Sorry Joe, never doing this. I love you man."
He added: "This is my fault going off the set. He [the referee] said, 'Buddy you stay here, this is not correct'. I think it's normal every leg but sorry it's my fault.
"I never say sorry to Joe Cullen in person. Never. I play on that stage. What's his problem?
"I'm sorry to the referee but for Joe Cullen, I'm never sorry. Everybody plays different.
Three-time world champion Glenn Durant felt that Suljovic was not guilty of any wrongdoing when asked to give his opinion on Sky Sports.
Reacting to Cullen's social media comments, he said: "You know what Mensur Suljovic is going to do. He can go from being very slow and he can go to playing very quickly. Maybe he saw a chink in the armour of Joe Cullen.
"Joe kept his temperament brilliantly well throughout. I can understand both sides.
"Sometimes, we do on social media, it's too much in the moment. He didn't break any rules. There was no rule breaking. The referees spoke to Mensur during it over an issue - they dealt with it perfectly well."
Suljovic could face reigning champion and No.1 ranked player Luke Littler in round three if he sees off David Davies.