Liverpool legend John Arne Riise ‘doesn’t want former team-mate in his life’ and ‘can’t forget’ what happened
LIVERPOOL legend John Arne Riise has revealed he cannot forget what Craig Bellamy did to him despite forgiving his former team-mate.
Riise won the Champions League with the Reds in 2005 but two years later was the victim of an assault at the hands of Bellamy.
The pair fell out over Riise’s refusal to sing a song during a team karaoke session, having also bickered on a golf course previously.
Bellamy took exception to how Riise spoke at him so attacked him with a golf club in his hotel room later that evening.
Riise, 43, said he had forgiven his former team-mate years ago but has not forgotten what Bellamy did so wants nothing to do with him.
He told Ladbrokes: “I don’t have any contact with or preference to be friends with Craig Bellamy now, no, because team-mates shouldn’t do what he did to me.
“Team-mates argue all the time, and things happen in training, but he went too far, so he’s not a person I would like to have in my life.
“I have nothing against him; he’s doing his own thing and I saw he had a good couple of years with Vincent Kompany at Burnley, and I’m glad he’s doing well.
“But he’s not a person I would like to have in my life. I can forgive, but not forget.
“What happened between us was forgiven a long, long, long time ago, but still, you don’t forget what he did, because it was way over the line.”
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Bellamy was fined £80,000 over the incident.
But he still played alongside Riise against Barcelona in a famous 2-1 win for Liverpool on the trip, with the Welshman celebrating by mimicking a golf swing.
The pair both scored on that night with Bellamy teeing up Riise for the winner.
Bellamy has apologised for the incident and called it “pathetic”, “stupidity of the highest level” and “drunken, bullying behaviour” in his autobiography.