Ireland midfielder Glenn Whelan is the latest Stoke City player to be involved in a violent locker room fracas. Whelan reportedly got rough with his 6'2 captain Abdoulaye Faye's over the latter's choice of causual footwear in the run-up to Stoke's dire capitulation against Chelsea on Sunday.
From the Why Delilah blog:
It is claimed that Whelan confronted Faye over his unprofessional approach to a fixture that left Stoke embarrassed in front of millions of TV viewers.
Faye is accused of not taking the game seriously after wearing his flip flops when the rest of the players were suited and booted shortly before the match.
Faye subsequently retired injured inside the first 10 minutes of the match - the fifth time he has failed to finish a game because of injury this year.
Whelan, it is claimed, was angry with Faye after seeing his captain take part in a dressing-room warm-up shortly before kick-off wearing his flip flops.
Whelan apparently said Faye's poor injury record and his failure to take the game seriously were not unconnected.
His 32 year-old captain turned on Whelan and is said to have asked how many Premier League games the Irish international had played.
Striker Ricardo Fuller was among those dragged into the dispute as he restrained Faye before the players were called for the second half.
Faye then reportedly confronted Whelan again after the game following the manager's post-match team talk.
It is alleged that Whelan was struck in the face by Faye before players and backroom staff stepped in to separate them.
Somewhere Roy Keane is smilling.
