Former darts world champion Neil Duff has thrown his support behind transgender player Noa-Lynn van Leuven after she faced online abuse. 

Northern Irish darts star Neil Duff described Van Leuven as a “lovely person” after fellow player Deta Hedman refused to play against her in May. 

Hedman pulled out of the Denmark Open when set to play Van Leuven, writing on Twitter/X that she wouldn’t compete against the trans player “in a women’s event”. 

Trans darts player ‘scared’ to compete

Van Leuven later experienced an onslaught of anti-trans abuse online, which Duff said left her scared to compete in the World Darts Federation (WDF). 

Speaking to Online Darts, Duff said that he hoped those with anti-trans views will “rethink” their stance, and that Van Leuven is a “lovely, beautiful person”. 

Duff added: “I’ll deal with these things like it was one of my kids come home and tell me they’re going to transition. I hope Noa-Lynn gets on, [there’s a] good chance she gets her [Professional Darts Corporation] tour card and probably the best thing that’ll happen to her is getting away from the WDF. 

“The girl is actually scared to play, to go to events now.”

In an exclusive interview with PinkNews in May, Van Leuven said the abuse left her not wanting to leave ther home.

“I’ve gained a few really good friends through darts, I’m really happy with that,” she said. “I’ve got some nasty DMs on my social media. Some really, really nasty s**t. I didn’t even want to leave the house, but in the end when I went on [talk show Sophie & Jeroen], I gained a big group of allies and a whole community standing behind me.

“There [are] people against me but, luckily, I have allies and people [who] stick up for me.”

Van Leuven told other trans athletes who may be experiencing similar levels of hate: “As long as you are happy as yourself, that’s the most important thing. People can say, ‘Oh, we accept you any way you are’, but whenever you get successful, they won’t. Just be you.”