Richie Burnett

[dartsfan22]

Any news on the return of the Prince of wales

[crispy1978]

Given he isn't a Tour Card holder, I'd assume the only way he'd be able to regain the Tour Card is through Q School, assuming he is eligible to do so.

[Ginge]

Hopefully he wont be back at all, same goes for any other athlete or sportsperson who uses drugs.

[Paddy McGinty]

Hopefully he wont be back at all, same goes for any other athlete or sports person who uses drugs.

Must agree with this, drug cheats should be banned for life.

[billyd]

Hopefully he wont be back at all, same goes for any other athlete or sports person who uses drugs.

Must agree with this, drug cheats should be banned for life.

Also agree, but could be said the drugs used were not "performance enhancing". Well, at darts anyway

[Paddy McGinty]

Wasn't it coke he was caught with? or was it something else? Bradley's sure to know.

[nikkiboy]

You bunch of hypocrits, what do you think alcohol is? - it is a drug which in some can be performance enhancing, the only difference is one is legal one is not. Had he been caught taking beta blockers then I'd agree but in a sport where alcohol and nicoteen are allowed to be used its a bit rich to claim a moral high ground over another substance.

[Ginge]

Alcohol is legal, drugs arent, therein lies the rub. Would you be arguing this case if the defendant wasn't Welsh?

[Paddy McGinty]

The difference is everyone can use legal drugs.

[nikkiboy]

Alcohol is legal, drugs arent, therein lies the rub. Would you be arguing this case if the defendant wasn't Welsh?

Yes, most smokers are addicts and the pdc encourage the habit by arranging smoking areas for players. Alcohol is an addictive drug and the pdc encourage it by operating a bar at the venue. Coke can be addictive but it is my understanding that it was recreational use, you cannot claim a moral high ground when you actively encourage and profit from other forms of addiction especially as we well know that if the law changes and coke becomes legal there will be mirrored PDC tables and a PDC sherbet bar.

[Ginge]

Are alcohol and tobacco classified illegal substances?

[nikkiboy]

In this country no

[Ginge]

Well thats the end of that debate then.

[dartsfan22]

Can't believe someone is trying to compare coke to alcohol......

[daraghj82]

I would like to see Richie back, what he did was stupid but also what klaasen did was stupid and he was given another chance to get his career back on track

[Booji Boy]

Hopefully he wont be back at all, same goes for any other athlete or sportsperson who uses drugs.

Get tae fuck. Fuck all wrong with using recreational drugs.

[Sammy]

He is washed up as a player anyway. Drug use is just another step towards his inevitable break down.

[el_ringo]

Can he not play the qualifier for Lakeside this year ?

and was he eligible to play in the qualifiers for the Masters as a previous champion ?

[nikkiboy]

Can't believe someone is trying to compare coke to alcohol......

Both are addictive (in some people) and both give you a "high" and take away inhibitions. The only difference is alcohol is taxed, we used to have opium dens in major UK cities not so long ago which were run as legitimate businesses and taxed accordingly. Now if the argument is that cocaine is performance enhancing then it is no more performance enhancing than alcohol or for that matter nicotene. If however the argument lies that he has committed an illegal act and the ban follows because of that then the PDC are on very shaky ground, they have several convicted criminals on their book and to my recollection none of them served a ban after their conviction. You must also take into account that Richie has not been convicted of anything, he has merely fallen foul of the Kangaroo court that is the DRA. The double standards are astounding when sex offenders go unpunished but someone caught taking a recreational drug (albeit illegally) gets his tour card revoked.

[cannibal]

I hope he makes a stab at a comeback if he has gotten help and stopped using (for his own well being). Comeback and attempts are great stories and make for interesting sports viewing. I think everyone deserves a second chance at least, maybe not a third or fourth chance depending on the severity of the infraction. Let him start from ground zero, which I believe he will anyway even if he gets a tour card at q school. The ban for a year, losing all ranking points is punishment enough for a first offense or at least a first getting caught lol.

I did see that Richie did an exhbo not too long ago, anyone go or heard how his darts were flying?