Sky Sports apologise for Man Utd comment made during darts coverage that nobody saw coming

Sky Sports issued an apology on air for comments mocking Manchester United as part of their Premier League darts coverage on Thursday night.

The latest night of action in the Premier League took place in Exeter at Westpoint Arena, with defending champion Luke Littler facing off Stephen Bunting in the quarter-final after a shock first round exit to Gerwyn Price on night three.

But 'The Nuke' found his former early on in the repeat of this year's World Darts Championship semi-final, producing ten 180s and registering an average of 112.34.

Bunting averaged 105 and five 180s but could not keep up with the relentless Littler, who won 6-3 to set up a semi-final showdown with Nathan Aspinall.

Commentator Stuart Pyke described the action alongside Wayne Mardle, who said the format had "no let-up" and was "relentless" while watching Littler stroll past Bunting.

Then, while discussing Bunting's struggles, Pyke aimed a surprise stray dig at Littler's beloved United, saying: "There is no Manchester United to relieve the pressure in this Premier League."

Mardle, a five-time world semi-finalist and die-hard Spurs fan, laughed at the remark and added: "For anyone offended by that we’re sorry".

Though they hold the record for the most Premier League titles with 13, United have been a sleeping giant since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement and are currently 14th in the table after a dire run of form under current boss Ruben Amorim.

Luke Littler's Manchester United caught a stray during his game. Image: Getty

Littler, who paraded his world championship trophy around Old Trafford, has been very vocal about United's poor performance in recent times in interviews and social media posts.

He beat Aspinall 6-2 to progress to the final, where he came up against pal and world number one ranked player Luke Humphries in what is becoming a familiar match-up.

The two have locked horns in both the world and Premier League finals and on this occasion it was Humphries who took the victory by a 6-4 scoreline.

Humphries is clear at the top of the rankings with 15 points, with Littler following behind in second on eight points and Price completing the top three with seven.

Night five takes place next week on 6 March in Brighton, with Littler's first match coming against Chris Dobey.