Leeds pair facing more legal action

Leeds United's disgraced stars Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer are to face private legal action by the young Asian student they were cleared of assaulting.

The family's advisers also said they were seeking to bring a private prosecution claiming conspiracy against the football club over allegations they had covered up evidence surrounding the case. Woodgate, 21, and Bowyer, 24, were cleared by a jury at Hull Crown Court last Friday of causing Sarfraz Najeib, 21, grievous bodily harm following the savage street assault in Leeds city centre in January last year.

Woodgate was convicted of affray for his part in the terrifying chase of Mr Najeib and his friends before the assault, following a confrontation outside a nightclub.

Both men face a legal bill of more than £1million - Bowyer after a judge ruled his statements to police were 'littered with lies', despite being cleared. Bowyer also faces a six-match suspension for two misconduct charges on the field which were left unheard until the conclusion of his trial.

The midfielder will discover this week whether he must face the two FA charges. One incident dates back to last season when Bowyer clashed with Liverpool's Gary McAllister in an FA Cup tie. McAllister was treated for four minutes and received a bruised cheek from an incident unseen by referee Andy D'Urso.

Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier claimed Bowyer had 'got away with murder'.

The second incident came earlier this season when Bowyer was embroiled in a foul-mouthed row with referee Jeff Winter during a Premiership game at Arsenal. Bowyer was charged with misconduct for using foul and abusive language after allegedly swearing at Winter when he received a second caution, and subsequent red card, in the 2-1 win at Highbury on August 25.

Any additional punishment for the uncapped Bowyer would further antagonise Leeds manager David O'Leary, who has already criticised the FA for refusing to select Bowyer and Woodgate for England until their case was finished. An FA spokesman said:'We are now going to be looking at these cases involving Lee Bowyer. Obviously they have been frozen pending legal proceedings, but now the case has been heard and concluded, he will be subject to normal disciplinary action.'

Woodgate and Bowyer had a lighter training session than their team-mates yesterday. Bowyer then joined 20 other players visiting local hospitals.

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