PHIL TAYLOR has apologised to Raymond van Barneveld following their altercation at the end of Sunday's Ladbrokes World Darts Championship semi-final.
The pair exchanged words on stage at the end of Taylor's 6-4 victory after shaking hands.
Taylor has since contacted van Barneveld to apologise for the misunderstanding after being pulled off-balance by his Dutch rival's handshake.
"Raymond's a big lad and he has a strong handshake, and when he pulled me, it hurt me," said Taylor. "I reacted wrongly and I'm ashamed of that because I really like Raymond I'm gutted about what happened.
"It's upset a lot of people and it's also upset me. I've contacted Raymond to apologise to him and hopefully we can put it behind us now.
"I'm very close to Raymond, he's a great competitor and it was something that happened in the heat of the moment."
The incident will be passed on to the Darts Regulation Authority as a matter of course for them to decide whether any disciplinary action is to be taken.