Leon Best and Stephen Ireland will be discipline say Newcastle

Pa
Wednesday 23 March 2011 12:25 GMT
Comments
Pardew has confirmed the pair will be punished
Pardew has confirmed the pair will be punished (GETTY)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew says the club will discipline Leon Best and Stephen Ireland for visiting a city nightclub the evening before a game.

Best and Ireland issued a joint apology on Monday after a photograph of the pair and reserve team player Stephen Folan was published on the Tup Tup Palace club's website following a visit on Friday.

The Magpies had a Barclays Premier League trip to Stoke on Saturday, and although Best and Ireland were not due to travel to the Britannia Stadium, they were nevertheless in breach of a club rule.

Best missed the Potters clash due to an ankle injury but joined up with the Republic of Ireland squad in Dublin this week ahead of their Euro 2012 qualifier against Macedonia and the friendly clash with Uruguay.

Pardew intends to deal with the matter when he has all three players back on Tyneside.

"All I want to say on that is that as Leon Best has travelled with Ireland, we've not faced each other yet," said Pardew, quoted in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle.

"There will be discipline involved, for sure, but I want to see all three together in my office before I say anything more."

Meanwhile, Ireland could make his long-awaited Newcastle debut in the home game against Wolves on April 2.

The 24-year-old has been hampered by injuries since arriving on loan from Aston Villa in January, but the Magpies are optimistic he will have fully recovered from his recent thigh problem in time for their next match.

Newcastle assistant manager John Carver said: "Stephen Ireland will resume full training on Monday - he will join in with the group then and get a good week of training before Wolves, so we're hopeful there."

Best and Jose Enrique, who is nursing a mild hamstring injury, are also in contention to feature.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in