Jamie O’Hara reveals he was once ‘SLAPPED in the face’ by former Tottenham teammate Stephane Dalmat in blazing training ground row

Jamie O’Hara was once left stunned by a training ground bust-up with one of his teammates, which ended that player's career at Tottenham!

Dressing room rows are ten a penny in football, but this one was a little different as a teenage O’Hara was put in his place by Stephane Dalmat, a more experienced pro at Spurs Lodge, who demanded more respect from the youngster.

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The talkSPORT pundit explained he once lost his rag with the playmaker during the Frenchman’s spell on loan at Spurs from Inter in the 2003/04 season.

The midfielder made 22 league appearances for Tottenham, but persistent injuries soon saw him drop into the reserve team, which is where he encountered a 'young and hungry' O’Hara.

And when the youngster called out Dalmat for not putting a shift in during a training game, the talkSPORT co-host definitely didn’t see what happened next coming…

Speaking to the talkSPORT Breakfast in August 2020, O'Hara recalled: “I was only a kid, I think I was 17, I was in the reserve team changing room and I was obviously really hungry to do well.

“I had a lot of desire and he was obviously playing in the reserves and didn’t give a monkeys that he was there.

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“I dug him out because he was just walking around being lazy. I came in after the game and I just said, ‘Stephane, if you don’t want to be here, just don’t be here!’

“And he just got up, walked over to me and I was thinking, ‘we’re going to have a Barney here, he’s going to say something…’

"…and he just slapped me in the face!

“A full-on, open palm of his hand slap, not a punch – just *tsh* right across the grid!

“So obviously I’ve then gone to steam into him and everyone has jumped in…. but the cheek of it, to just slap me in the face.

“I was like, ‘WOW!’ It just came out of nowhere!”

And his decision to lash out backfired badly for Dalmat, who then had his loan terminated early and was sent back to Inter.

According to reports from the time of the incident, in April 2004, Dalmat was said to have told O'Hara he 'should show more respect to a senior professional'.

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The Frenchman's agent also had a word, saying: “Put it this way, with the amount of Champions League games Stephane has played and the top clubs he has played for, he deserves to be treated with respect.

“I know there was a problem the other night, but he's never had a problem with his discipline at any of the other clubs he has played for.

“But he will be leaving Spurs at the end of the season and going back to Inter.”

The things is, that was reportedly the THIRD bust-up Dalmat had since he arrived at Spurs just a few months earlier, while it was also claimed he fell out with his managers at both Marseille and PSG...