Toon Wrangle Smacks Of Another Bowyer Disaster

Last updated : 18 November 2012 By Footy Mad - Editor

Perhaps the guy working the fax machine got it right - perhaps he didn't press the right button - who knows.

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But nobody is going to admit to it, for sure, in this bizarre cock up that is one of many that just seem to happen to Newcastle United - no other club.

Can you cast your mind back when "someone" at St James' Park filled in the names of the players to be registered with UEFA for our European campaign ... and he FORGOT Lee Bowyer.

The mistake put the former Leeds United midfielder in the stands for SIX European games.

Does that happen at Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge? Na ... never!

Papiss Cisse  was barred from playing against Swansea after Senegal invoked FIFA’s ‘five-day rule’, which stops a player who has withdrawn from international duty without a valid reason from playing for five days after their country’s match.

United were gobsmacked that the suspension went through, having – they claimed – faxed copies of Cisse’s medical records to the Senegalese FA on Monday.

They were still hoping to get the decision overturned on Saturday morning and Cisse was at the ground, changed and ready to play until 80 minutes before kick-off.

That prompted a furious 650-word statement from Newcastle, who threatened legal action against the Senegalese FA and claimed the decision was a hangover from Cisse being prevented from playing in the Olympics over the summer.

Cisse backed up his club and said he was considering whether to resign the captaincy of Senegal in response to their decision.

Alan Pardew: “We kept getting promised that the decision was going to be overturned and that Senegal were going to let Papiss play, but we kept waiting and waiting and it was at about 1.40pm that we finally found out that wasn’t going to happen.

“It did affect our preparation. Him missing today was a blow to us. We didn’t feel we did anything wrong and he should have played.”