Nach Saufgelage: Bernt Haas ins Spital ueberfuehrt!

[Ball Boy]

23.12.2004 Times London:

West Bromwich Albion: fancy-dress party reportedly ended with Bernt Haas, the defender, taken to hospital after a drinking binge

Und was haben die anderen Teams zur Weihnachtsfeier getan?

- Man U versoff GBP 50'000 an der Bar
- Man City Spieler drueckte einem Mitspieler eine brennende Zigarre in die Augen

*********************************

Cigar stub incident tars image of game

GORDON TAYLOR, the chief executive of the PFA, was left shaking his head in despair after learning yesterday that yet another wayward youngster had succeeded in bringing shame upon the sport at a time when the playersu2019 union has been endeavouring to improve the image of its members.

Joey Barton, the Manchester City midfield player, faces serious internal action u2014 a fine of about £60,000, which is equal to four weeksu2019 wages u2014 after he pushed a lit cigar into the eyes of a young team-mate at the clubu2019s Christmas party at a city-centre nightclub on Sunday evening.

James Tandy, a 20-year-old reserve-team player, has suffered from blurred vision and been told he is lucky that there will be no lasting damage.

Taylor has occasionally been accused of defending the indefensible when it has come to the issue of footballers behaving badly, but on this occasion he expressed only regret.

u201CWe do so much to try to educate the players and give them a sense of discipline and we hope they take it all on board and have the type of lifestyle that will lead to a long career, but then you get incidents such as this,u201D he said.

For the PFA, the timing was unfortunate. The union had been hoping to attract publicity of the right sort by asking its 2,500 members to donate their Christmas Dayu2019s salary to Oxfam to raise money for education in Africa. The initiative has been strongly supported by players such as Gary Neville, Jermain Defoe and Ledley King but, as Taylor has wearily come to recognise, it is antics such as Bartonu2019s that will gain far more column inches.

u201CItu2019s like what Gary Neville said at the launch for the Oxfam initiative,u201D Taylor said. u201CNinety-nine per cent of the players are a credit to their profession. They do charity work and visit hospitals, particularly around Christmas but all year round, and they do not seek any recognition for it. The other 1 per cent step off the track and itu2019s front-page news. Thatu2019s just the way it is.u201D

Barton, as it transpires, spent several hours of Tuesday afternoon visiting sick children at a Manchester hospital u2014 and not, as cynics might suggest, as a desperate publicity stunt. Officials at City talk of him as one of the most amenable young players at the club, a man for whom nothing is too much trouble, but they recognise that it is not for nothing that the England Under-21 player is developing a reputation as one of the gameu2019s bad boys.

Bartonu2019s list of indiscretions on the pitch includes sendings-off against Tottenham Hotspur last season and in a friendly against Doncaster Rovers. Off the pitch, he stormed out of the City of Manchester Stadium after learning that he was not in the team to face Southampton in April. Most worrying was a driving conviction, which was overturned, after his Peugeot was embedded in the window of a car showroom.

It is understood that City will issue a stern warning about his future conduct, although an investigation conducted by Bryan Bodek, the clubu2019s deputy chairman, has revealed that Tandy was partly culpable. It is understood that the two players had been involved in a series of confrontations throughout the evening.

Taylor admitted that he was not surprised to learn that another football club Christmas party had ended in tears. u201CAt times you worry that these occasions are accidents waiting to happen,u201D he said. u201CBut I donu2019t want to be Ebenezer Scrooge. I donu2019t think we can talk about banning Christmas parties.

u201CIt would be naive to think people wouldnu2019t drink at Christmas parties, which they do all over the world. The difference with footballers is that, if they step out of line, itu2019s front-page news.u201D


***********************

Arsenal: declined to say
Aston Villa: low-key evening at local hotel
Birmingham City: enjoyed dinner and drinks in Bournemouth on Sunday
Blackburn Rovers: visited a local restaurant
Bolton Wanderers: more food at a local eaterie
Charlton Athletic: held a party at a restaurant
Chelsea: official party held last night at Stamford Bridge with a Hollywood stars theme
Crystal Palace: declined to say
Everton: official party held at restaurant. Players sung to by the academy squad
Fulham: unknown u2014 at Harrods, perhaps?
Liverpool: visited a restaurant in the city centre. A raunchy pop band, 100%, was cancelled after the playersu2019 wives objected
Manchester City: fancy dress at the Lowry Hotel in city centre on Sunday has provided much for the press to contemplate
Manchester United: spent £50,000 on champagne at a nightclub after win over Crystal Palace. Alleged scuffles
Middlesbrough: players went to a local restaurant on Monday
Newcastle United: plans for a party were scuppered by Graeme Souness, the manager
Norwich City: held a party at Colney training ground with staff and children
Portsmouth: players, management and staff went to Pizza Hut after match against Arsenal
Southampton: no more than a lunch at St Maryu2019s
Tottenham Hotspur: dinner at The Grove hotel in Watford

*****************************

Seasonal mix that always guarantees a lasting hangover

The curse of the Christmas parties

NEWS just in: a Christmas party turned sour when a motley crew of revellers prompted a low-ranking politician to give warning of darkness and dark powers. Initially, it sounded like a typical night out for any group of football hedonists, but the only crime committed was getting dressed up as Harry Potter in Smithy Bridge Library in Rochdale.

Nevertheless, the trouble stoked by these children shows that parties have come under scrutiny like never before. It is why the TUC has suggested that mistletoe be banned from the worksu2019 knees-up, lest it leads to harassment charges.

It raises the question, have we succumbed to a utopian code of political correctness or are footballers really hard-drinking animals who like nothing better than pretending to be the Village People while quaffing their way through rivers of Red Stripe?

There is now a trend towards banning festive bashes from football. It is a move born of common sense. From the Celtic players who ended up in a Newcastle jail after bikini-clad waitresses, buckets of booze and a bucking bronco failed to gel on Tyneside, to Vinnie Jones reasoning that Chelseau2019s players would love a little dwarf-hurling at their do, the Christmas party has long been an accident waiting to happen.

However, it is easy to be hypocritical. Footballers belong to that age bracket where a majority of macho males read soft porn lads-mags and binge drink on Saturday nights. Footballersu2019 behaviour is born of worsening standards on our city streets. For many, whether you do unspeakable things to the office photocopier or run up a bar bill of £78,000, as Manchester United once managed, it is a matter of wealth rather than choice.

And has much changed? Brian Clough, eulogised by all this year, forced his players to drink, while Don Revie had a bottle of Scotch in the dressing-room. Peter Osgood led his Chelsea colleagues on an eight-hour bender on the eve of the European Cup Winnersu2019 Cup final in 1971, and Brazil had a government-approved team brothel at the 1962 World Cup.

Today these facts would be used as evidence of a moral disintegration. Now we look back at Osgood and Co as loveable rogues. It is the same sort of selective moralising that makes Denis Compton a very English cad for turning up to a cricket match wearing his dinner suit from the previous nightu2019s merriment. That is the stuff of legend; now it would be the stuff of red-top tabloids.

That is why the Christmas party is outdated. The Celtic players ended up in jail after an argument with a photographer in 2002. Robbie Fowler, clad in Army gear and brandishing a toy gun, hit the headlines at Leeds in 2001 because he also scuffled with a snapper.

When Graeme Souness, the Newcastle manager, said that there would be all sorts of people awaiting his players if they partied in Edinburgh this year, he meant those with cameras and those unhappy at seeing underachievers over the limit.

The Christmas party is now a self-fulfilling prophecy. Trouble is expected, so the media turns up. One cannot blame the media for Hayden Foxe urinating on the bar of Londonu2019s Sugar Reef club, but there is an inevitable fallout from combining footballers increasingly out of touch with normality and a media desperate to confirm the publicu2019s two-faced disdain.

Add those who have never been more envious of players and you have a witchesu2019 brew that is far more potent than anything conjured up in Smithy Bridge Library.

The team that drinks together may win together but it also has an almighty hangover, and the problems of Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer, in Leeds, and Leicester City in La Manga have all been drinkinfluenced. Now, with the game harder and faster than of old, a little professional rest might not go amiss.

As for team-bonding, can Slade really cure a dressing-room split? It is time to face reality. If a Liberal Democrat councillor can be concerned about the Hotter Than Potter party, it was always liable to be a cold Christmas for Craig Bellamy and the boys.

Prosit! Ball Boy

[Admin]

© Blick; 23.12.2004; Seite S38; Nummer 300

Die Sun bläst zur Haas-Jagd - er schlägt zurück

Haas ass Fisch und fiel vom Tisch

MARCEL ROHR und Pierre A. Graenicher

BIRMINGHAM. Das englische Massenblatt «Sun» hat nach Urs Meier wieder einen Schweizer im Visier: Bernt Haas (28). Der Söldner von West Bromwich Albion soll an der Team-Weihnachtsfeier zu viel Wodka gekippt haben. Dabei ass Haas nur Fisch - und kippte dann vor Übelkeit fast vom Tisch.Weihnachtsfeier - bei diesem Wort zuckt seit

dem Skandal vor zehn Tagen auch jeder GC-Fan zusammen, als die Mannschaft nach einem Disput zwischen Boss Brunner und Keeper Ambrosio geschlossen das Fest verliess (BLICK berichtete).

Vorweihnachtlichen Ärger hat nun auch Bernt Haas. «The Sun» titelte gestern: «Der Spieler von West Bromwich Albion torkelte am Montagabend in ein Spital in Birmingham. In der Hand schwang er eine Flasche Wodka und er brauchte Hilfe, weil er derart betrunken war und fast kollabierte.»

Haas(en)-Jagd vor Heilig Abend! Wieder steht ein Schweizer im Visier der «Sun» - während der EM hatte das Revolverblatt wochenlang auf Ref Urs Meier draufgehauen, weil er England einen Penalty verweigert hatte.

Und jetzt Bernt - der Alkoholiker? «Völliger Blödsinn», ereifert sich unser 35-facher Nationalspieler hässig. Für BLICK schildert er, was an der Weihnachtsfeier bei WBA tatsächlich passierte.

Montagnachmittag, 14 Uhr. Team und Staff treffen sich in einem Pub in Birmingham zur Feier. Es gibt ein üppiges Buffet mit Apetizers, Salat, Seafood und Fisch. «Ich habe von allem gegessen», erinnert sich Haas. Zum Apero wird Wein, danach Bier serviert. Als ein Comedian und später ein Zauberer (wie bei GC...) auftreten, gehts hoch zu und her im Saal. Die WBA-Stars singen Karaoke

und amüsieren sich.

Doch plötzlich wird Haas von Bauchkrämpfen geschüttelt. «Mir wurde speiübel», sagt Bernt, «ich wollte nur noch nach Hause.» Gegen 17 Uhr verlässt der Aussenverteidiger das Fest und fährt in sein Appartement. Via Concierge-Service lässt er einen Doktor kommen. Der misst den Blutdruck und checkt die wichtigsten Organe. «Trinken sie viel Wasser und erholen sie sich», sagt der Doc.

Doch Haas traut der Sache nicht, fährt wenig später in ein Spital in der City. Dort gibts weitere Checks, ohne gravierende Befunde. Haas: «Ich hatte wohl nur etwas Falsches gegessen.»

Am Dienstag fühlt sich der Rechtsverteidiger besser. Weil er am Wochenende in der Premier League nicht den ganzen Match spielte, absolviert er ein Training mit den Reservisten. Und gestern betonte er: «Ich habe etwas Alkohol konsumiert am Montag, soviel wie meine Teamkumpels auch. Alles andere ist erlogen!»

Heute wird Haas vor dem Training am Morgen mit seinem Coach Bryan Robson das weitere Vorgehen besprechen. «Der Klub», sagt Bernt, «will wissen, welcher Vogel im Spital falsch gepfiffen hat. Vielleicht geben Robson und ich dann eine Erklärung für die britische Presse ab, in der wir alles richtigstellen werden.»

Weitere Konsequenzen wird der Fall für den Schweizer keine haben. Am Sonntag steht das Heimspiel gegen Liverpool an. Haas ist drauf und dran, sich seinen Stammplatz auf der rechten Seite wieder zurückzuerkämpfen. Weihnachtsfeier und Haas(en)-Jagd hin oder her.

[Naz]

jäjä d'Sun halt.. öpe glichs niveau wie dr Blick

[PeppermintPatty]

Jäjä, was macht äggscht s' Hääsli amme, wenns e Weneli zfescht in d' Wodkafläsche gluegt het...

[TAFKAE]

zubi sieht aus, wie wenn er sich ne spritze setzen würde...

[Seraph]

Joey Barton, the Manchester City midfield player, faces serious internal action u2014 a fine of about £60,000, which is equal to four weeksu2019 wages u2014 after he pushed a lit cigar into the eyes of a young team-mate at the clubu2019s Christmas party at a city-centre nightclub on Sunday evening.

James Tandy, a 20-year-old reserve-team player, has suffered from blurred vision and been told he is lucky that there will be no lasting damage.

ich glaub, ich spinn...

[pluto]

ich glaub, ich spinn...

Ich auch: 60'000 Pfund Monatslohn ...

[Ernesto]

Haas: «Ich hatte wohl nur etwas Falsches gegessen.»

Kann man denn bei der englischen Küche überhaupt was Richtiges essen?!?

[zul alpha 3]

jäjä d'Sun halt.. öpe glichs niveau wie dr Blick

hätte nie gedacht, dass ich mal etwas in dieser art von mir gebe ....

im vergleich zur sun ist der blick eine klasse-a tageszeitung mit journalistischem tiefgang ... die sun nervt mich nicht erst sei der meier geschichte. typisches murdoch hetze-blatt !

zu MC nur soviel: gibt es überhaupt so etwas wie zivilisiertes feiern in england oder muss auch wirklich jedes mal über die stränge gezogen werden, weil keiner mehr nicht nur eine dumpfbacke sondern ein riesengrosses idioten-a**** sein will .....?

[Onkel]

Woni d Überschrift gläse ha, hani gmeint är heig sich Krankehuus riff gsoffe, schad wär no geil gsi

[MMM]

Jäjä, was macht äggscht s' Hääsli amme, wenns e Weneli zfescht in d' Wodkafläsche gluegt het...

Ifersüchtig..?

[COCKY]

[quote="Angelo"]© Blick]

etwa so?

[Gevatter Rhein]

Schade um's Dementi. Ich hatte schon gedacht, der Schönling hätte zum ersten Mal in seinem Leben etwas Männliches gemacht. Schwuchtel.

[PeppermintPatty]

Ifersüchtig..?

jo dängg, sinnlos!