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'The noise was unbelievable, he was screaming': Rio Ferdinand recalls John Hartson's infamous Eyal Berkovic face kick at West Ham training ground... and reveals players wanted to stop training ground game before it ended 'in tears'

Rio Ferdinand has lifted the lid on the 'unbelievable' West Ham training ground incident between John Hartson and Eyal Berkovic, which involved the former kicking the latter in the face.

The duo clashed in September 1998 when a bad tackle from the former striker in a training game saw the Israeli throw a punch at his Welsh team-mate.

In retaliation, Hartson spun and kicked the former playmaker right in the face as the situation got out of hand.

Rio Ferdinand has lifted the lid on the 'unbelievable' West Ham training ground incident between John Hartson (right) and Eyal Berkovic (left)
The duo clashed in September 1998 after a bad tackle from Hartson and a punch from Berkovic

Former defender Ferdinand was asked on BT Sport about the most vivid memory of a training ground scrap he had witnessed in light of Chelsea duo Antonio Rudiger and Kepa Arrizabalaga's spat at the weekend.