Boycott against TV channels
German darts star refuses interviews
12/18/2025 – 1:26 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The sporting start in London goes smoothly for Martin Schindler. The most striking thing is that a broadcaster at Alexandra Palace “explicitly” does not get an interview.
At his uncomplicated sporting start to the World Cup, Germany’s best darts professional Martin Schindler caused a stir by boycotting interviews. Unlike usual, the 29-year-old was not available to the TV channel Sport1 either before or after the game. Schindler “explicitly does not give any Sport1 interviews,” it said in the ongoing live broadcast on Wednesday evening.
Schindler’s manager Ioannis Selachoglou told the German Press Agency on Thursday: “We have decided together not to give Sport1 any interviews at the moment or for the rest of the World Cup. This is also a consequence of the broadcaster’s reporting on German darts and how it was sold by the media department.”
When asked, the TV station Sport1 said they regretted Schindler’s decision, but could not comment on the details. The station’s aim is to report in a “balanced, fair and sometimes critical” manner. We would be happy to welcome the best German darts professional back to the interview in the future.
Despite the boycott, Schindler remained available to other media outlets. After his 3-1 win against Englishman Stephen Burton, he spoke on the streaming service DAZN, the rights holder Sky Sports and at the press conference in London. The players are obliged by the world association PDC to make an appointment before their match. After the games, only the winners usually speak at the Darts World Cup.
Before the World Cup, Schindler had already pointed out the high expectations in the German darts scene and criticized the media landscape. “If you win in Germany, you are the hero. If you lose, you are immediately the loser again. That’s what happened to Max (Hopp), that’s what happened to Ricardo (Pietreczko), that’s how it happened to Gabriel Clemens,” he said at the time.