Shearer’s foul-mouthed reaction to Dyer, Bowyer fight

Shay Given has revealed how Alan Shearer reacted to Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer’s fight during a game in 2005.

Dyer and Bowyer came to blows as Newcastle teammates during a fixture against Aston Villa towards the end of the 2004/05 season.

Both players were sent off for their part in a fracas that had to be broken up by players from Newcastle and Villa.

In another excerpt from his autobiography, ‘Shay: Any Given Saturday’, which is being serialised in the Daily Mirror, the keeper has told of how then-captain Shearer reacted to the pair’s fight.

‘Against Aston Villa at home in April 2005, we really did become the laughing stock of the Premier League,’ he writes.

‘My main memory of it all is just seeing this blur of black and white arms throwing haymakers and then seeing Villa’s Gareth Barry fly in to try and split it up.

‘The whole stadium was just in disbelief.

‘When we got to the bottom of it later, it turned out it was over the two of them falling out over passing the ball to each other. Crazy.

‘The whole day had been Sunday League. It was madness. You don’t even see footballers punch opposition players these days so to have two team-mates going for it was ridiculous.

‘Al was as mad as I’ve ever seen him.

‘”What the f*** was that? What the f*** were you doing?” he was shouting at the two of them. “You’re both a f***ing joke. You’re a disgrace to the club.”

‘Newcastle were making headlines for ridiculous reasons and he was dumbfounded by it all. It was a farce.’