ONE of the Premier League’s most incredible incidents is 15 years old today.
Newcastle’s 3-0 defeat by Aston Villa on April 2, 2005 is best remembered for Toon team-mates Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer BRAWLING on the St James’ Park pitch.
Bowyer and Dyer had one of the Premier League’s most unforgettable moments 15 years ago todayCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The pair were red-carded for their troubles, with the home side down to EIGHT men after Steven Taylor had already been sent off.
Several years later, Bowyer lifted the lid on the fight, claiming it was Dyer’s insults at his lack of ability that pushed him over the edge.
He said: “It was a moment of madness.
“Everybody regretted it. But we are winners. I’m sure if we’d been winning 3-0 it would never have happened.
“Kieron’s a nice lad and I still see him. I saw him at Bobby Robson’s golf day and we had a beer and a laugh.”
In his autobiography Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late published in 2018, Dyer said: “I could see him marching towards me, eyes bulging.
“Boss Graeme Souness was shouting ‘don’t do it’ from the touchline, but Bowyer kept on coming.
“I grabbed him by the shoulders and the neck to keep him off me and then he started raining in punches. It was like slow motion.
“When the punches were hitting me in the head, I was thinking ‘I cannot believe he is hitting me in front of 52,000 people.
The scrap between the former Newcastle team-mates has gone down in top-flight folkloreCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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“What the f*** is he thinking?’ I was trying to let him punch himself out. I thought it was just going to be handbags. It’s the kind of thing that might happen in training but not in a match.”
What happened after? Well…
Bowyer initially faced a four-match ban for what was his second sending-off of the league campaign, and, after he admitted using violent conduct, it was subsequently extended to seven games by the FA.
He was also copped a £30,000 fine on top of Newcastle fining him six weeks’ wages, thought to be around £200,000.
Dyer served a three-match suspension after Newcastle’s appeal against his red was rejected.
The following year Bowyer, who had just moved on to West Ham, was fined £600 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs after pleading guilty at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court to using threatening behaviour.
Bowyer, now 43, went onto enjoy spells with the Irons, Birmingham and Ipswich before hanging up his boots to go into management.
The former Leeds legend has been calling the shots at Championship side Charlton since March 2018, and signed a new three-year deal in January this year.
Dyer, now 41, followed Bowyer to West Ham before retiring in 2013 after stints at Ipswich, QPR and Middlesbrough.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
