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Craig Bellamy has addressed bullying and xenophobic behaviour allegations made against him during his time as an academy coach and says he was wrong to cheer against England in front of young English footballers.
The new Wales manager stepped down from his position as Cardiff Under-18s coach in January 2019 as the Championship club conducted claims against him and others.
The following October, Cardiff said their academy players had faced an “unacceptable coaching environment” at the club.
As well as supporting England’s opponents in front of young English players, Bellamy was said to have turned the sound down on the television when God Save The Queen was playing before England’s 2018 World Cup semi-final with Croatia and also shown his contempt for Bristol City.
Bellamy, who denied and disputed the allegations and was not the subject of any disciplinary proceedings, apologised for any offence he caused and subsequently rebuilt his coaching career by assisting Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht and Burnley.
The 45-year-old, who won 78 Wales caps and played for Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle, says he did not appreciate how his behaviour could impact young players in the Cardiff academy.
“I trusted the disciplinary process and respected it,” Bellamy said when asked how he had come through that difficult period.
“I understood, as well, there’s a lot of stuff I didn’t know – like cheering against England in a game in front of people from England. It’s not correct. You can’t do that.
There's a lot of stuff I didn't know - like cheering against England in a game in front of people from England. It's not correct. You can't do that— Craig Bellamy
“I didn’t know that. I honestly thought it was just nature for me. I didn’t understand how a young 18-year-old English boy might have felt.
“So I apologised for that. There’s a lot a lot of things like that I thought might like sound right, but it actually could be a deal and I didn’t realise.
“So, I have to take that into account as well – and I did.”
Bellamy returned to football coaching under-18 and under-21 players at Anderlecht, helping current Manchester City and Belgium winger Jeremy Doku among others progress their careers.
He spent over two years in Belgium before being reunited with Kompany at Burnley, during which time the Clarets won the Championship title with 101 points and then suffered Premier League relegation.
Bellamy said: “I went to Anderlecht and had an opportunity again to work with under-18s.
“But the amount of relationships I still have with a lot of players from those (Cardiff) moments is hugely important to me as well.
“The message for every youth coach who goes into youth coaching is, ‘please, be mindful. Please. Really do your homework and the levels you’re going into and what you allow’.
“I wasn’t dealing with 12, 13 or 14 year-olds. These were 17, 18-year-olds. If you’re in school, then obviously you don’t swear.
“I thought, after school, maybe, you know, in that environment, I could turn a blind eye to it. But you can’t do that.”
