dyer & bowyer- that fight!!!

[Bad Wolf]

what do you think their punishment should be?

i'm not really a footie fan, but my boyf made me watch match of the day and see the fight in the middle of a newcastle match between two players on the same team. i was shocked.

football has recieved enough bad press in recent times, as there is a feeling that the behaviour of players (clearly swearing on camera was mentioned) was having an effect on kids and their behaviour in the playground and shouldn't be shown in the afternoon.

this latest incident was far worse. the fact that they also didn't apologise to each other in the quickly arranged press conference afterwards only added to it.

children are highly impressionable, the incident was wrong on so many levels (bad sportsmanship for a start)

my question is, what do you think should the punishment should be? is a ban enough or should they be activley made to coach kids in the rights and wrongs of the sport?

[Ella.]

I saw it on Match Of The Day and was quite shocked too, the fact that they are on the same team made it even worse!

The majority of football players these days are well behaved, however the antics of some of them (both on and off the pitch) give the others a bad name.

I personally think they should be given a hefty ban just to show that this sort of behaviour is not acceptable, although whether or not that will have an effect on the way children view these sorts of incidents, Im not sure.

[Bad Wolf]

there was a big thing in the media a few weeks ago about kids copying the behaviour of their hero's (only natural) this fight couldn't have come at a worse time

[Meh]

I watched MOTD just to see the fight. What a disgrace. I don't know who was guilty of what, but Newcastle should take a tough stance once the result of the investigation is known.

[Ella.]

I hope they get the punishment they deserve, I think some of these footballers just get away with it these days.

Take Jermaine Pennant for example, recently jailed for drink driving. He's done an interview for a Sunday Newspaper moaning about his time inside. I appreciate that he has every right to do this, but he also goes on to say that he wants to be a role model for kids who might be going off the straight and narrow. This is just ludicrous- many kids probably already idolise him as it is, and he seems to have forgotten all about this. I was recently involved in an accident with a drunk driver myself (we were hit head on by the car which was on the wrong side of the road) so I have no sympathy for Pennant whatsoever and think he got off lightly.

We all make mistakes, but these footballers need to appreciate that being in the public eye, their every move is being watched by hundreds of young fans.

[Bad Wolf]

exactly, ive just read on the sunday mirror site that they will face a three match ban, is that it?!

[Ella.]

Ive just seen on the BBC Sports site that theres a possibility they might be dismissed, and the police are apparantly investigating the incident.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what they decide!

[Meh]

If they just get a ban, then its a disgrace.

On a less serious note - what did everyone think of the oscar winning perfomance by the defender when he handled the ball?

[Bad Wolf]

OMG!!! it was class, although to be fair to him as the goal keeper was miles away, so was just trying to his job!

[Meh]

For those that haven't seen the incident, you can watch it here.