Michael Vick, Here’s a Lesson for You – Footballer in Hot Water Over Death of Dog

Dog loving footballer Gilles De Bilde landed himself in trouble with football club Willebroek, who play in the Belgian league, after he missed a game to mourn the death of his dog.

The former Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa player is said to have not turned up for a league game following the death of his dog.

It is not the first time the dog loving star has courted controversy because of his love for dogs. In 1999, after he arrived to play for Sheffield Wednesday, he was exposed by a tabloid for smuggling his two Dobermans through quarantine. Whilst denying the offence, the outspoken footballer said at the time “Quarantine laws are s**t laws because they affect dogs’ health. That’s not a good thing”

De Bilde, who was transferred from Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven to Sheffield Wednesday for £3m in 1999, is famous in the football community for his passion for animal welfare. He has used his profile in Europe to campaign for a European ban on cat and dog fur.

Ex Wigan Athletic Manager Paul Jewell, who managed De Bilde when he played for Sheffield Wednesday had previously experienced the player’s passion for his dogs.

“I fixed him up with three months on loan at Aston Villa,” said Jewell. “But when I called him in to tell him, he said: ‘I’ve got a problem. I’ve got nobody to look after my dogs if I go there’.

Gilles De Bilde, you are a quality bloke!