Former Scotland footballer Ally McCoist has defended darts player Cameron Menzies after he heartbreakingly broke down in tears at Alexandra Palace.
Fellow Scot Menzies, who is the partner of female darts star and trailblazer Fallon Sherrock, lost to world No 130 Leonard Gates in a shock first-round defeat at the World Championships despite being ranked 91 places higher.
Menzies, who shared a photo of himself with his father in the hospital after his defeat, was subjected to loud boos during the clash, with the Ally Pally faithful backing the underdog.
The Scotsman has been seeing a sports psychologist to help with anxiety on stage and could be seen taking deep breaths as his World Championships dream fell apart.
The 35-year-old was booed as he walked out and had to battle through the crowd chanting ‘Scotland get battered’ and ‘USA!’ as he stumbled to defeat.
Reacting to the abuse that Menzies suffered, ex-Rangers striker McCoist told talkSPORT: ‘It goes with the turf I think.
‘Cameron’s a brilliant lad, I know him, I spoke to him, smashing lad, particularly in an arena like that where he can hear it, see it, and it’s so visible.
‘Anybody that has performed in an Old Firm derby, would tell you, particularly the opposition stadium, the abuse that you take, with the greatest respect it’s unacceptable.
Cameron Menzies broke down in tears during his first round match at the World Championship on Monday
The Scot shared a photo with his dad in hospital shortly afterwards on Monday evening
Former Scotland footballer Ally McCoist rushed to the defence of Menzies following the abuse
‘Right, it is unacceptable.
‘Some of the things that are shouted at football matches, in particular, any other walk of life, you did it in the street, you go to jail. So it should not be allowed.
‘But there is an element of fans, 100 percent entitled to voice opinions at sporting events, people dancing and enjoying themselves having a couple of drinks.
‘There’s something great about it, but if it starts affecting people’s mental health that’s something that should be looked at.
‘There should always be a level of respect.
‘There should always be, there won’t be probably in some cases, a level of respect between the fans and the participants.’
Menzies’ partner Sherrock, who has lived with a serious kidney condition since 2014, also crashed out after losing 3-2 to Ryan Meikle.
Shortly after his defeat, Menzies broke his silence on social media by sharing a photo of himself with his dad in hospital with the caption: ‘I didn’t wanna post this man… my dad is my hero.’
Menzies kisses his partner Fallon Sherrock at Alexandra Palace last year. She also suffered defeat on Monday
Menzies suffered a shock defeat to world No 130 Leonard Gates despite being ranked 39th
Menzies looked distraught towards the end of the match as he went down to the American
The pair embraced after the game, but Menzies was clearly devastated with what had unfolded
There was no further information regarding the post but it added to the sadness of the whole evening for the Scot.
Menzies later shared another post that simply said: ‘Thank u ally pally fans.’
Meanwhile, speaking after his impressive victory, American star Gates opened up on what was happening on stage.
‘I was definitely aware of it (his emotions),’ he said. ‘But at the same time, I want my opponent to play their best against me to see if I can play my best against them.
‘I told him to use the energy of the crowd, keep coming and keep playing the best he can to grow the PDC.’
Gates did go on to show support for Menzies and made sure to point out the Scot’s qualities.
‘We played together in Vegas,’ he added. ‘So I know what he can do. You know when he’s feeling good and he’s had good having fun and have a good time.
‘He can throw some great darts and I mean I hats off to him. You know Cameron Menzies is a great man a great opponent and I hope he keeps going.’
Menzies’ partner Fallon Sherrock (pictured), who has lived with a serious kidney condition since 2014, also crashed out after losing 3-2 to Ryan Meikle
Gates is known for his showmanship on the circuit and showed plenty of that on Monday night as he pulled off a range of dance moves during his walk-on in an attempt to whip up the crowd.
Gates’ antics were lapped up by those in attendance, with chants of ‘USA’ reverberating around Alexandra Palace throughout.
On the other hand, Menzies made a more low-key entrance, and regularly faced the ire of fans.
The 35-year-old was taunted with anti-Scotland chants throughout the clash – even when he brought the tie back to 1-1 – while he was also jeered when he struggled to post big scores and checkout, which included him missing 20 darts at double.
He was similarly seen sweating and looking flustered on stage as he unfortunately struggled to deal with the pressure of the encounter.
Towards the end of the decisive fourth leg when Menzies was closing in on defeat, the he began to break down and could barely hold back the tears.
Gates did embrace Menzies after the game, before showing off more dance moves in celebration.
