Foulkes left bruised after bar attack

LORD Foulkes, the former Hearts chairman, was one of a small group of supporters attacked in a Prague bar shortly before kick-off on Thursday night. He received bruising to the head but was able to attend the match and flew back to Edinburgh as scheduled yesterday afternoon.

"Three or four of us were knocked about a bit by some casuals who came out of the night," the Labour peer said yesterday. "I got an abrasion to my head.

"We were outside a bar not far behind the Hearts section of the ground. I was helped into the inside of the bar, they ran off very quickly, and I was able to go to the game. I was inside the ground three or four minutes later and I saw the police arrive at the bar.

"It was totally out of character with everything else that was happening around the game, as Hearts and Sparta fans were getting on very well. The people from Prague who were in the bar were as horrified as we were by the attack."

Foulkes was forced out of the club along with chief executive Phil Anderton in November but has remained a loyal supporter of the team. The dual departure came just ten days after the Edinburgh club parted company with George Burley, who had only been manager since the end of June 2005.

Last month Foulkes urged Hearts supporters to confront owner Vladimir Romanov over allegations of meddling in team selection.

Taken from the Scotsman