London Irish
Well-known member
Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore has been beaten to a pulp by a group of rugby players following a night out in Dublin.
Collymore claims he was set upon by six Bath rugby players following a row that was sparked when he was allegedly racially abused by Bath's South African player Robbie Fleck. Collymore claims that Fleck called him a "f***ing kaffir". It is claimed that England World Cup forward Danny Grewcock one of the "merciless" attackers.
The attack left Stan nursing a broken nose, a suspected fractured elbow, bruised ribs and other facial injuries. He was rushed to hospital after police broke up the affray in which punches and kicks rained down on the former Red for several minutes.
Collymore was in Ireland to appear on a television show with Irish premier Bertie Ahern's daughter Cecilia. He arrived at the club just after midnight and spent the evening with Cecilia, James Bond star Pierce Brosnan and Cold Feet star James Nesbitt.
Explaining what he says happened, Collymore said: "It was sickening. What they did was way beyond anything I've ever experienced.
"They kicked me all over the street. I went to the ground at one point, but I managed to get up again. There were five or six of them, all just bashing me.
"I put my head in my hands to protect it. I was left covered in blood. It was horrendous. I'm a big lad and I can look after myself, but there's nothing I can do against five or six big blokes.
"One of the girls I was with got a clump in the face as well. They're just f***ing tossers. Racist, cowardly tossers.
"I was chatting to a girl, having a good night out, when these lads arrived and started shooting their mouths off. I asked them what their problem was and one of them, Robbie Fleck, called me a kaffir.
"I was very angry. No one has ever said anything like that to me in all my life. If you know about apartheid and South Africa, you'll know that a kaffir is a very offensive thing to call someone.
"This guy just walks up and calls me a 'f***ing kaffir'. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I stood up and said, 'Did I hear you right?' Then it kicked off and they got thrown out. I'm not being called kaffir by anyone."
Thirty minutes later the group bumped into Collymore at a nearby Burger King.
He continued: "There they were again. They started shouting their mouths off.
"I asked them what their problem was, but they just hurled abuse at me. They were called me a w***er and things like that. I told them I would take any one of them on one-on-one outside, but they suddenly all piled in.
"I had no chance anyway, but the minute I saw this one guy coming at me I knew I was really in trouble. He was like the Jolly Green Giant. I just thought to myself, get your head down and cover up.
"To his credit, one of the players (Isaac Feaunati, a Samoan forward) stood up against his teammates, but he got punched as well.
"It must have taken some courage for him to do that and I thank him for it, but his team-mates were just vicious animals.
"I can handle any physical threat, but what made me really angry was the racist abuse."
A witness who asked not to be named, told The Mirror: "These blokes are real cowards for what they did. Stan didn't do anything to provoke them. They just lashed out against him. It was disgusting. I think he was lucky to get away as lightly as he did. I was afraid it could have been a lot worse."
Another witness said: "One of them threw a punch and hit me because I was standing next to Stan. He wasn't able to stick up for himself against so many blokes. It was sickening to watch."
