FIVE players have been fined following the latest meeting of the DRA's Disciplinary Committee.
The players include recent Ladbrokes.com World Darts Champion Adrian Lewis and PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Champion Arron Monk, with James Wade, Colin Lloyd and Paul Nicholson also fined.
Lewis was found guilty of acting in a manner which may reasonably be considered to bring the game of darts into disrepute (contrary to Section 4.1 of the DRA Code of Conduct) at the Bodog.com World Grand Prix, when following a visible altercation between with his opponent he, in view of the live television cameras, used offensive language.
Lewis was also found guilty of "behaviour which may reasonably be construed as gamesmanship" by entering into the exclusion zone prior to his opponent releasing his dart on a number of occasions at the World Grand Prix.
He was also found guilty of failing to mark at a Players Championship in Germany in October 2010, and fined a total of £3,200 for the three offences.
Wade was fined £250 following the World Grand Prix after being found to have made an offensive gesture to the crowd while on stage during live televised coverage.
Lloyd was fined £2,000 after being found guilty of acting in a manner which may reasonably be considered to bring the game of darts into disrepute during the World Championship.
He was fined £1,000 for an incident where he punched the dartboard during his first round game against Andree Welge, and a further £1,000 for throwing his darts "to the floor in a reckless manner" at the end of the match.
Nicholson was fined £1,000 after also being found guilty of acting in a manner which may reasonably be considered to bring the game of darts into disrepute during the World Championship, after throwing his darts "to the floor in a reckless manner" at the end of his match with Peter Wright.
Monk, meanwhile, was found guilty of three offences of acting in a manner which may reasonably be considered to bring the game of darts into disrepute, at Players Championship events in Germany in October 2010 and Derby in November 2010, as well as at the Grand Slam of Darts.
He was fined £350 and given a three-month ban, which is suspended for six months but would be activated should he commit any further events within that six-month period to July 21 2011.
Further to the fines given to Lloyd and Nicholson, the DRA also released the following advisory for players:
The DRA Council has noticed an increased number of reports of players throwing their darts away at the conclusion of games, on many occasions in what might be described as a reckless manner.
The Council believes such actions could at any point lead to physical injury being caused to other people at tournament venues, including members of the public.
The DRA wishes to bring to the attention of all players that from January 21 2011, all offences reported to the DRA Disciplinary Committee of throwing darts in any such manner, other than during the official 'Throw', will attract a guideline tariff of an immediate one month suspension from all DRA sanctioned events upon conviction.
This is in addition to any other penalties deemed necessary, including financial sanctions.
The DRA will also, in conjunction with the PDC and PDPA, be conducting a review of the playing conditions such as the exclusion zone.
Right of Appeal Under DRA Regulations
Anyone affected by a determination of the DRA Disciplinary Committee has a Right of Appeal in accordance with Rule 8 of the DRA Official Rule Book (as amended). Such an appeal must be made within 14 days of the person being served with a notice of sanction.
All money raised from players' fines is used to support the DRA Drug Testing Programme