Profile of Lee Bowyer on Famous Like Me

Lee Bowyer (born January 3, 1977 in Newham, London) is a professional football player who currently plays for FA Premier League side Newcastle United.

Bowyer signed for Charlton Athletic at the age of 17, first hitting headlines in 1994 when he and team-mate Dean Chandler failed tests for cannabis. Both recieved lengthy bans, but Lee became a first team regular a year later, before transferring to Leeds United in 1996 for £2.8m - a record for a British teenager. Shortly after this he was accused over an incident in a McDonalds in London, apparently telling the shops purely-Asian staff to "get a white guy in to serve me or I'll trash the place". Initially, Bowyer was kept out of the first team by Alf Inge Haaland and David Hopkin, however, he supplanted Hopkin in the 1998/1999 season, and went on to make 257 appearances for the club, scoring 62 goals.

After an incident outside a Leeds city centre nightclub, Bowyer was accused of involvement in the racist assault of the student Safraz Najeib. Bowyer was found not guilty of affray and grievous bodily harm with intent, but teammate Jonathan Woodgate was found guilty of affray and ordered to serve 100 hours' community service.

Bowyer was fined four weeks wages by Leeds, for breaching the club's code of conduct for being under the influence of alcohol on the night of the attack. Bowyer refused to accept this decision, and was placed on the transfer list by Leeds, who were running into financial difficulties.

Bowyer signed for West Ham United on a short contract for a nominal fee, in January 2003. West Ham were relegated at the end of this season, and Bowyer joined Newcastle United on a free transfer.

In the early stages of the 1999/2000 season, a tackle by Bowyer on the Spurs midfielder Stephen Clemence prompted a brawl between Leeds and Tottenham players. Each club was fined £150,000 by The FA for their part in the incident. That season, Bowyer was also given a one-match ban and a £4,000 fine by the FA for becoming the first Premiership player to amass 14 yellow cards.

On April 2, 2005, Bowyer was in the media spotlight again after an astonishing on-pitch brawl with fellow teammate Kieron Dyer in Newcastle United's Premiership match with Aston Villa. This resulted in a red card for that particular game plus a further three game ban, Dyer received the same punishment. Bowyer was fined six weeks wages by the club, thought to be in the region of £200,000. Dyer was not fined as Bowyer was alleged to have thrown the first punch. On June 8, 2005, Bowyer was charged in connection with this brawl by Northumbria police with public order offences under section four of the Public Order Act, and ordered to appear at Newcastle magistrates court at a later date.

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