Pennant lifts lid on Bellamy golf club attack on team-mate Riise

Jermaine Pennant has revealed all about Craig Bellamy’s infamous golf club attack on John Arne Riise.

The former England international is about to release no holds barred book Mental: Bad Behaviour, Ugly Truths and the Beautiful Game.

He wrote that the row while on Liverpool’s warm weather training camp in Portugal in 2007 begun over karaoke.

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Pennant recalled the trip where the Reds were preparing to face Barcelona – ironically a game where both Bellamy and Riise scored.

“Riise was egging him on,” he wrote. “‘Go on, Bellers… get up there.’ Riise was getting more than a bit lairy. ‘Ah, you’re a s***house, Craig. You’re on tour. You’re supposed to be the hard man.’

“We were all drinking our beers, thinking, ‘Oh-oh! Oh-oh!’

“It kept going on. Bellers was going, ‘You carry on, just carry on. Keep on f***ing singing your song. You carry on.’

Peter Crouch and team-mate Steve Finnan raced in to tell them Bellamy had “just battered Riise with a seven iron on his bed”.

Pennant said: “He started saying, ‘It was just a joke, Craig! I didn’t mean it, I swear! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!’ Bellers screamed at him, ‘Say that again. Go on, say it.’

“Riise said no – and then Bellers just started whacking him. He hit him a few times. He had his legs up, so took it mainly on the side of his thigh. ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry!’ he was screaming.”

The Welshman celebrated his goal at the Nou Camp by swinging an imaginary golf club.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez attempted to keep it all under wraps – but it soon got out.

“In training the next day the matter was brought up on the training field before our session began,” wrote Pennant. “Rafa (Benitez) said ‘Whatever has happened, we keep it in house, you know.”