John Arne Riise has detailed his side of the now infamous clash with Craig Bellamy while playing for Liverpool.
The Norwegian defender has been opening up on the incident back in 2007, ahead of Norway taking on Wales in the Nations League this week.
Sitting in the Wales dugout for that game will be Bellamy, who is now manager of his nation. That’s prompted TV2 to reach out to Riise, Norway’s most capped player, to discuss the incident between the pair all he way back in 2007.
Famous incident
For those that don’t know, Riise and Bellamy came to blows during a Liverpool training camp in Portugal ahead of a Champions League clash with Barcelona.
The crux of the story is that Bellamy – slighted by Riise during a drinking session – attacked the defender with a golf club in the middle of the night. Fortunately for the left-back, he did not manage to do any damage.
The issue was resolved not long after, but Bellamy didn’t leave it there. Instead, he had the nerve to celebrate a goal against Barcelona with a golf club celebration. Almost ironically, he even set up Riise for the winner in that game.
The Welshman was later fined for the incident before being sold the following summer. Now Riise has recounted his side of the story.
“On the last day of the training camp, we had a team dinner, and those who wanted to were allowed to have a beer or two,” he told TV2. “But, of course, it rarely stops at just one or two beers.”
“As the evening went on, he kept calling out to me, asking me to sing karaoke. I told him I wasn’t going to do it, but he wouldn’t let up. So, I walked over to him and said: ‘I’m not singing, so shut up about it!'”
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Midnight attack
A verbal altercation them followed before Riise returned to the hotel with Sami Hyypiä. Riise headed to bed, but that was not the end of matters.
“I suddenly wake up in the middle of the night. I don’t remember what time it was, but I hear the door rattling, I think it’s Agger coming back,” he explained.
“But then the light gets turned on. You know how it is when you’ve just woken up and the light hits you right in the face – you can barely see anything and don’t quite grasp what’s happening.” Bellamy is standing there with a golf club.
“I saw he was really drunk and the whole works,” he said.
“He says: ‘No one talks to me like that. No one talks down to me. No one points a finger at me. I don’t give a damn if I end up in prison. The kids are safe; I have enough money.’ Then he swings at me twice. I block with my hip, so he hits me on the hip with the golf club twice.
“But you could see in his eyes that he was completely out of his mind. And there he was, ready to come at me. Finally, I say: ‘Okay, but can’t we just have a proper fight? A real one?’
“He’s completely fired up, and I’m just thinking: If he hits me one more time, I’m going to have to take him on. But then we agree: Tomorrow morning at nine. That’s when we fight.”
What happened next
Eventually Bellamy leaves the room, leaving Riise to deal with the consequences. One of those was Agger, who was ready to fight on his roommate’s behalf.
“I was starting to get quite a bit of bruising on my hip. It was purple and pink from the blows,” he added.
“He (Agger) wants to fight right away. He wants to go and take him on. Benítez comes in and talks to me and so on. A lot of things are happening all night long. That morning, I was ready to fight him, but he wasn’t there. So, I go down to breakfast. Everyone knows what happened, and the lads are cracking up. He walks in without looking at me. Then we agree with Benítez to put it behind us.”
Just days later, Liverpool take on Barcelona in that famous game. Bellamy scores and celebrates with a golf swing celebration. Riise wasn’t particularly impressed by that.
“I felt the celebration was way over the line, but he was fined and sold that summer. I’m glad I didn’t retaliate. If I had, I could have jeopardised my contract at Liverpool,” he concluded.
