Michael van Gerwen speaks out as darts icon filmed in kebab shop fight

Michael van Gerwen has sought to downplay a recent altercation during a night out, after footage surfaced online showing the Dutch darts player involved in a scuffle in a kebab shop. The three-time darts world champion was seen being pulled away by onlookers after an initial confrontation broke out.

And the 36-year-old has now spoken out about the incident. "After an enjoyable night out, we wanted to grab something to eat, and unfortunately I ended up in a situation you'd rather avoid," he explained to Darts News. "The man came at me from the kitchen, not the other way round, following a verbal exchange. People are making it sound more dramatic than it actually was, which is a shame.

"As you can see, people stepped in straight away and the situation was resolved. I even spoke with the man's nephew afterwards, and we cleared the air before we left."

Earlier this week, Van Gerwen's close friend and fellow PDC star, Vincent van der Voort, revealed that his mate had withdrawn from the upcoming Swiss Darts Trophy to concentrate on securing his place at the Players Championship Finals.

"That's where the focus is now," he shared on the Darts Draait Door podcast. "In those five more tournaments he is going to play, he has to makeup that £10,000. Everything will have to give way for that.

"With that intention he has to go (next week) to those three Pro Tours as well. Not that it's 'just' a floor tournament. There must be rock-solid performances now. So you can't be satisfied if you haven't almost made up that £10,000 deficit already."

Van Gerwen also disclosed back in June that he had separated from his wife of 11 years, Daphne. The couple, who started their romance in 2008 before marrying six years later, share two children together – Mike and Zoe.

Speaking candidly about the separation, Van Gerwen told Dutch publication AD earlier this month: "I'm just human, you know. At some point, you want to think about nice things again, not just be preoccupied with the mess you're experiencing at that moment.

"I couldn't write this script myself, so I'll have to deal with it in a way I think is right. You could just sit around and grieve all day, but that's pointless. So you do fun things, take time for yourself."