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Ben Arfa eats his way to reserve team

Cape Town - If ever there was a way to force oneself out of a football team, over-eating has got to be the strangest. Newcastle midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa, however, has done exactly that.

According to the Metro, Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has banished Ben Arfa to the Magpies reserve team and he will be left out of the squad for the pre-season tour of Australia after the 27-year-old returned back to pre-season training 1.5kg over-weight.

Ben Arfa insists that the added weight is down to increased muscle mass, but the club are less convinced and have fined him £1 600 for his excessive eating habits. Pardew is so disgusted by the state his player got himself into that he's ready to let him leave.
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