Diouf 'treated badly' says Bolton chairman

The Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside has come to El-Hadji Diouf's defence and claimed the player is being unfairly singled out.

"The lad's being treated unfairly at the minute and anything he does is being examined," said Gartside, after Diouf had been accused of spitting at fans after scoring Bolton's opener at Birmingham on Tuesday night. "He's become the nature of a lot of attention that is unnecessary. He's taken his punishment and he's now got to be given the chance to rebuild his career."

Statements were taken from fans by stewards at half-time and a Birmingham official then informed Rennie. But Gartside revealed both clubs had viewed the CCTV footage from the game and had decided between them the matter was closed.

Diouf has been guilty of spitting in the past - he only recently returned to the side after a three-match ban imposed for spitting at Portsmouth's Arjan de Zeeuw.

And he was fined by Liverpool after spitting at Celtic fans during a Uefa Cup tie in Glasgow in 2003. But Gartside pointed out: "He's also a very charming young man and I've got a lot of time for him personally."