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Michael van Gerwen has spoken out after the darts superstar was punched in the face by a stranger during a bar fight.
Footage of the altercation was posted online, showing the three-time world champion speaking with a man before he suddenly hits Van Gerwen in the face.
The incident took place in the Dutch city of Den Bosch on Monday during the country’s King’s Day public holiday.
Van Gerwen is then shown chasing and lunging at the attacker, but was stopped as security guards dragged away the man in question.
The 37-year-old has decided not to press charges against the person responsible, but told Dutch sport news website Sportnieuws.nl: ‘That man had clearly had too much to drink and it felt to me like his anger came out of nowhere.
‘Just as he seemed to be heading for the exit, he suddenly lashed out. Of course, it’s not right that I went after him. But that was an automatic reaction.
‘That man clearly knows he was in the wrong because he apologised via Instagram.
‘It’s a shame that these images are released without any context. Beyond that, it was a calm and friendly evening in which nothing eventful happened. But, well, it is what it is.’
A statement from Van Gerwen’s management, MODUS Sports Management, added: ‘We are aware of footage circulating of an incident involving Michael van Gerwen.
‘He did not provoke the situation and was not at fault. As this is a private matter, we will not be commenting further.’
Earlier in the year, Van Gerwen was involved in a similar bust-up, that time outside a kebab shop in Brabant.
Despite the most recent incident, Van Gerwen was back in action on Thursday in the Premier League, where he suffered a quarter-final defeat to Luke Humphries in Aberdeen.
Van Gerween currently sits fourth in the eight-man table with three nights of the regular season remaining.
The top four will qualify for the finals in London, with Humpries the defending champion.
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