Violence & Brawls ·
The Fight That Left Newcastle With Eight Men
Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer were sent off for fighting each other against Aston Villa in April 2005. They apologised together; the discipline that followed treated them differently.
In the 82nd minute at St James’ Park, Newcastle United lost two players to a fight with each other. Lee Bowyer approached Kieron Dyer, their argument became a scuffle, and punches were thrown. Players from both teams intervened and pulled them apart. Bowyer’s shirt was ripped down the front. Referee Barry Knight showed both men red cards, leaving Newcastle to finish their Premier League match against Aston Villa with eight players.
It was 2 April 2005, and Villa were already three goals ahead. Juan Pablo Angel had scored after five minutes. In the 73rd, Newcastle’s Taylor was sent off for stopping Darius Vassell’s shot with his hand, and Gareth Barry converted the resulting penalty. Barry scored another penalty in the 80th minute. Two minutes later, Bowyer and Dyer were dismissed. The match ended 3–0; the fight had not changed the score, but it required Newcastle to answer for something beyond a home defeat.
After the match, the two midfielders sat on either side of manager Graeme Souness at a press conference and apologised. Bowyer addressed the fans, chairman, staff, players, his family and “everybody that witnessed what happened today on the football pitch”. Dyer followed: “I would like to apologise to my team-mates, the manager, the chairman, and the fans, and everyone connected with the club as well.”
Once the players had left, Souness drew a distinction between them. “I think Lee Bowyer is indefensible,” he said. “I think he is guilty, as the pictures show, of throwing more than one punch and he has to accept whatever punishment comes his way.” But Souness said Dyer had assured him that he had not thrown any punches and had been “on the receiving end”. The manager said there would be internal discipline.
Newcastle challenged Dyer’s red card, but the Football Association rejected the appeal and he served a three-match suspension. Bowyer’s initial four-match ban, reflecting his second league sending-off of the season, was extended to seven games after he admitted violent conduct. The FA also fined him £30,000. Newcastle imposed a separate fine of six weeks’ wages, estimated at around £200,000.
In 2014, Dyer offered his account of the exchange that preceded the fight. Bowyer, he said, had complained: “You never pass to me.” Dyer recalled replying that the reason was that Bowyer was, in an insult punctuated by swearing, a poor player. “There were a lot of swear words,” Dyer said. “And that was it, then you just saw him lose his head.”
By then, the two had also been teammates at West Ham, and both said they were on good terms. Bowyer described the incident as “a moment of madness”. Dyer put their later relationship more simply: “We are friends.”