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Football players and fans really seem unable to learn anything. First there’s that lovely fellow, Lee Bowyer. Footage of his bust-up with Keiron Dyer is well documented. And you can see it <a href=”http://hem.bredband.net/jenslindmark/bowyer_vs_dyer.mpg”>here</a><br />
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Here are a few gems from the Bowyer fact file:<br />
– He once spent an entire match calling Nolberto Solano a “Paki” (Solano is from Peru, so we can assume Bowyer’s CV doesn’t include geography GCSE) <br />
– His part in the alleged assault on Sarfraz Najeib led to a suspension from England selection and a fine from his club. Charges were droppped against Bowyer, but his unrepentant stance on the incident lost him many friends.<br />
– He deliberately stamped on a player’s head with his boot in a UEFA Cup match, <a href=”http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/uefa_cup/2638707.stm”>prompting another ban</a><br />
– He was fined by magistrates after admitting to throwing chairs across a McDonald’s restaurant after drinking with friends<br />
– He was banned by Charlton for eight weeks and dropped from the England Under-18 squad after testing positive for marijuana<br />
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What bothers me is not that Bowyer is rich or a wasted talent or a thug – there are loads of people around like that. It is that despite everything, he just doesn’t seem to learn. By now you would have thought he might have considered why he gets all these bans and criticism, but no – off he goes again. <br />
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Talking of not learning, it was deeply unpleasant to see Juve fans giving the finger and booing the tribute to the Heysel victims at Anfield on Tuesday. What have they learnt after 20 years? Fuck all.