World Darts Championship sensation Luke Littler has issued a statement after posing for a picture holding up a copy of The Sun newspaper.
The 16-year-old has become an overnight superstar at the PDC World Darts Championship with increased interest in his progress.
Seen as one of the most talented young darts prodigies in modern history, Littler has faced plenty of requests for media interviews in the past two weeks.
He gave an interview to The Sun newspaper on Friday night where he posed for a picture holding up the paper as well as a kebab takeaway box.
Luke Littler has apologised for the picture
PA
The story in the paper ran a headline claiming Littler "loves" The Sun, prompting plenty of backlash online.
Littler was born in Runcorn, which is just a short journey away from Liverpool.
The Sun is widely boycotted on Merseyside for their coverage of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
Littler received abuse on social media in response to the picture in The Sun and the teenager responded with a statement the following day.
He wrote on X: "*STATEMENT TO EVERYONE FROM US*
"Today a photograph of me holding up a newspaper has been published in the media.
"The media attention I have been getting is very new to me and I didn't fully understand at the time what I was being asked to do.
"In no way do I endorse that newspaper or the headline which accompanied the article and I sincerely apologise for any offence this has caused.
* STATEMENT TO EVERYONE FROM US *
— Luke Littler (@LukeTheNuke180) December 29, 2023
Today a photograph of me holding up a newspaper has been published in the media.
The media attention I have been getting is very new to me and I didn't fully understand at the time what I was being asked to do. pic.twitter.com/eFpSrcqwyx
"I'm focusing now on my next match with Barney and would like to thank everyone for their amazing support."
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The Sun is widely boycotted on Merseyside
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Littler is through to the fourth round of the PDC World Darts Championship after beating Christian Kist, Andrew Gilding and Matt Campbell.
But he faces his toughest test of the tournament this evening against former world champion Raymond van Barneveld for a place in the quarter-finals.