Toon brawlers to play on

Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer have been given the green light to play together again just five days after their fight at St James' Park.

The Newcastle midfielders could both serve Football Association bans, while Bowyer has already been fined six weeks' wages - around £200,000 - by the club for Saturday's brawl.

Any suspensions will not extend to the UEFA Cup, and chairman Freddy Shepherd revealed he will not force them out of Thursday's quarter-final first-leg tie against Sporting Lisbon.

Dyer and Bowyer are likely to get a hostile reception from home supporters if they play in the game.

But Shepherd said: "It is up to the manager to see how they go in training and whether to pick them. They are available and eligible to play."