A darts star with the sauciest nickname in sport has been banned from using his moniker at the upcoming World Championship.
Australian player Tim Pusey has qualified for darts' showpiece tournament at Ally Pally but has been forced to abandon his naughty pet name: 'The Magnet'.
On the surface, a nickname about magnets might not seem so risque, but when paired with his surname it becomes rather provocative.
Pusey, 33, told Tungsten Tales: 'I don’t have any of that on my shirt. ’ll have to find a new one and maybe we’ll have to put it to a poll and get something.
'It’s hard because anything can be turned (laughs)… at the moment I don’t have any and the chants can be colourful.'
The Ally Pally crowd are known for being raucous, so despite this intervention from PDC Chiefs, there's every chance they will chant about the ribald nickname. Earlier this year, in Wollongong, he was serenaded with the line: 'Oh Pusey we love you.'
One man who is peeved about the language police at the PDC is Ally McCoist.
Laughing about the ban on his talkSPORT show, he said: 'He’s got to keep it, come on!
'He’s keeping it. It’s the best nickname. I love it man, it’s hilarious!”
'Where’s your sense of humour, darts people? Come on, man.'
This is not the first time the PDC have come down hard on a cheeky name. In 2023, World No 80 Owen Bates was banned from his tag: 'The Master'.
Pusey confirmed his place in the World Championship back in September after securing first place on the Australian Darts Association Tour rankings.
The tournament will get underway in London on December 11 and wrap up on January 3.
Last year, Luke Littler won his first world title as he trounced Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in the final.
In what felt like a haunting changing of the guard, the then-17-year-old raced into a 4-0 lead and looked as if he might complete a whitewash before Van Gerwen battled back to reclaim some respectability.
Littler became the youngest-ever player to win the world title, smashing the Dutchman's previous age record of 24 to claim £500,000.
This year, he will hope to repeat the feat- not least because the prize money is now a mouth-watering £1million.
