BOWYER: I'm No Racist

By Matthew Jones
August 22 2003

Midfielder Lee Bowyer speaks out about the incident which literally forced him out of Leeds United. Bowyer was cleared of an attack outside a Leeds nightclub on an Asian Student, and at last, has broken his silence on the matter.

26-year-old Lee Bowyer has at last broken his silence on the incident which forced him out of Leeds United a year ago - insisting he no racist.

The midfielder was cleared of an attack on Asian student Sarfraz Najeib outside a club in Leeds Leeds back in January 2000, but Leeds punished him and he left them for West Ham.

Sir Bobby Robson was quick to snap Bowyer up after West Ham failed to stay in the Premiershup.

Bowyer is keen to set the record straigh, and said: "I am no racist. I have never been and I never will be.

"I thought it was best for me to keep quiet about what happened in the past and there were also legal implications and there was no reason for me to come forward and say anything.

"If people were inferring that I was a racist, well that's their opinion, but it was ludicrous really.

"I was brought up in a mixed community in London and all my friends and schoolboy pals were from different nationalities.

"All this has been going on for a long time now and I have not been in a position to back myself up if you like but now I want to put the record straight.

"I have always supported the Keep Racism out of Football campaign when I was at Charlton with my pal Carl Leaburn and at Leeds with Lucas Radebe.

"It is something I have always supported but people seem to forget that these days."

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