Gay taunts led to Le Saux outburst

England team-mates Graeme Le Saux of Chelsea and Liverpool's Robbie Fowler have been charged with misconduct by the Football Association after an off-the-ball clash during Saturday's Premiership meeting between the two clubs.

The extraordinary clash, which occurred when Le Saux knocked the striker to the ground by hitting him on the head with his elbow, could see the two millionaire players banned for weeks.

However, another side to the incident emerged yesterday as friends of Le Saux insisted that he is the victim of a homosexual smear campaign by fellow players because of his middle-class background and hobbies, seen by some as alien to the prevailing football culture. Le Saux, aged 31, a regular Guardian reader who collects antiques, has been at the centre of vicious and unsubstantiated allegations about his sexuality for the past decade, which has led to him clashing with a number of players on and off the pitch.

A friend of the Chelsea player has said that Fowler persistently abused Le Saux during Saturday's match, calling him a "poof" and "faggot". Midway through the second half, as Chelsea were about to take a free-kick, Fowler bent over and pointed his bottom towards Le Saux and shouted: "Come on, come on, give it to me up the arse". Le Saux complained to the referee and the linesman, both of whom it is believed saw the incident but did not take action. The Chelsea player was then booked for time-wasting.

Le Saux later approached Fowler and told him that he thought he was a disgrace and that his actions had insulted his family. Fowler allegedly replied: "F*** your family". The friend said: "He's never been humiliated like that before. He's had abuse in the past but last Saturday was the worst ever. Graeme just lost his cool. He has suffered a lot of provocation in the past but he was utterly humiliated on Saturday and the fact that it came from an England colleague made it harder for him to accept. "He's quite embarrassed about how he reacted and would not have done that if he had thought about it. But he just lashed out at Fowler, he was so provoked.

"In a way he's glad that this incident is going to be investigated by the FA. He wants to tell them his story, the abuse he's suffered. The FA have to tackle this problem. If a player was racially provoked there would be an outcry."

Le Saux is preparing a dossier on the abuse he has suffered and will present it to the FA disciplinary tribunal when it discusses his case.

After the match, Chelsea officials are believed to have called the BBC's Match of the Day office and asked for Le Saux's attack not to be shown out of context.

A source said: "Fowler provoked him. Graeme wanted fair coverage on Match of the Day and wanted that to be clearly shown on the programme. He's not asking for any favours, he's not proud about what he's done, but the FA have to understand the nature of the provocation and the fact that Graeme has been putting up with it for so long."

Le Saux, who is married to Mariana, an arts graduate, and has a nine-week old baby girl, has refused to speak out publicly against the homophobic campaign that is being waged against him by players and supporters.

A source confirmed last night that a clash involving Le Saux and a Liverpool player earlier this season in the tunnel at Anfield was also sparked off by anti-gay abuse.

A source said: "Graeme has had enough. It's not that he's anti-homosexual but why should he keep having to stand up for himself and have to prove that he's not. It's got a lot to do with the fact that he's not a typical footballer and not into the laddish culture."

Leeds United manager David O'Leary confirmed yesterday that he is poised to sign a new five-year contract with the club.

"I would love to stay - there are no problems with signing the contract from my point of view," said O'Leary.

MasterCard signed a new multi-million dollar sponsorship deal for the World Cup yesterday.

Although the company refused to disclose details, it is believed to have paid FIFA a record $38 million for the four-year contract. The previous deal is believed to have cost only $26 million.