Craig Bellamy looks to have played his last game for Newcastle United after Freddy Shepherd, the chairman, tonight accused him of "cheating" the club, the supporters, manager Graeme Souness and his team-mates.

Newcastle are furious that the 25-year-old Welshman used a television interview to elaborate on the weekend's controversy, in which he was dropped from the squad for yesterday's clash with Arsenal.

"I wish to put the record straight regarding the Bellamy situation," Shepherd said. "He walked off the training ground saying his hamstring was tight, but what he failed to reveal in his interview was that he had told other members of the squad before training that he intended to feign injury.

"When Graeme Souness discovered this, he immediately ordered Bellamy to attend a meeting with us in my office.

"At that meeting, Bellamy admitted to Graeme and I that he had told the players that he was going to 'fake' an injury in training and walk off. He also agreed at that meeting to apologise to his team mates for his behaviour.

"He didn't do this which resulted in the action taken by the manager at the weekend, which I fully support.

"In my book, this is cheating on the club, the supporters, the manager and the player's own team-mates.

"Craig Bellamy is paid extremely well by Newcastle United and I consider his behaviour to be totally unacceptable and totally unprofessional. The player will now face internal discipline by the club."

Shepherd's comments will leave Bellamy in no doubt that his future on Tyneside is in severe jeopardy. Bellamy admitted he feared for his future at the club in his TV interview earlier today which he acknowledged might prove to be the final straw.

He accused Souness of telling a "downright lie" in an attempt to hound him away from the club. The Welsh forward gave a defiant defence of his behaviour, but his relationship with Souness could now be beyond repair.

Bellamy claimed that he had been ready to let the simmering row with Souness cool off, until he heard the manager's post-match comments on the radio when he was sitting on the team bus at Highbury on Sunday.

Having been left out of the Newcastle team, and not even included on the substitutes' bench, a decision which Bellamy said Souness delivered with a smile on his face, the 26-year-old was determined to keep mum on the issue.

Accused of faking an injury in training by Souness, to avoid playing in an unfavoured wide midfield role, Bellamy insists that the manager's version of events was overblown.

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