Rob Cross finally speaks out on five-year ban as director over £450,000 tax debt ahead of US Darts Masters defence

Rob Cross has finally spoken out after he was banned from acting as a director for five years over unpaid tax debts of over £450,000.

The 2018 world champion was found to have withdrawn more than £300,000 of money due to be given to creditors from his own company, Rob Cross Darts Limited, between 2020 and 2023.

He has been disqualified for five years, with the ban also preventing him from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company unless he obtains court permission.

A government report noted how Cross' company had received more than £1 million of his earnings between March 2020 and its liquidation in November 2023.

It was found that the company owed over £450,000 in combined tax and National Insurance contributions, with total liabilities equalling £579,805.

He also entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement, which will see him make regular payments to an insolvency practitioner, with the size of those payments depending on his earnings from darts tournaments.

Cross did not immediately comment but, ahead of the US Darts Masters this week - an event he won last year - 'Voltage' has finally spoken out.

In an interview with Online Darts, the 34-year-old was asked a question about the matter and replied: "It's not the proudest moment of my life. I understand I've done wrong, and I hold my hands up to it.

"Going down this route, the IVA, to pay the money back, means that I'm not running and I'm going to pay that money back.

"You make mistakes in life, and I'm willing to correct - well, I say correct, this is going to tarnish me - but I'm going to correct them, do the right thing.

"This has been going on for two years, to try and get to something of a resolve. It's cost me a lot of money to get there. It needs to be paid back, the money. So this isn't new news for me. I think two years ago I was probably suffering more with it, at certain times, trying to get everything sorted and getting your eggs into one line.

"That's the one thing that I am happy with now, is that it is sorted, it's there now and it's out, and I can just carry on working, I can pay it back and I can move forward."

He continued: "There were so many complicated things, trying to set stuff up. They, as the UK government, didn't want me to go bankrupt and rightfully so.

"It was just about getting a plan in and getting that paid, which is why it took longer [to come out].

"I'm fine with it. I know what I've done wrong, and I know what I need to do to correct it. I'm sorry to let all my fans down and other stuff, but I will get it sorted, I will get back on my feet, and hopefully it won't always linger over me for the rest of my life."