By Buford Balony
For the first time, Fox Sports commentator Mark Bosnich unveils the graphic details of his journey into a drug-fueled depression.
He claims that his model ex-girlfriend Sophie Anderton, who was involved with cocaine, was a “honeytrap” orchestrated by a gang aiming to bring about his downfall, revealing how this led to a five-year absence from the game during a period when he should have been at his best.
Bosnich, who played twice for Manchester United, as well as for Aston Villa and Chelsea, was earning a peak salary of $115,000 weekly.
However, the tumultuous relationship with Anderton led him to ruin and caused a rift with his family that lasted 18 months.
In a remarkable interview, Bosnich suggests he was in debt to a group of men who manipulated Anderton to blackmail him and admits that after Chelsea dismissed him in 2003 due to a failed drug test, he sought self-destruction.
“I met Sophie Anderton,” Bosnich shared with Alpha magazine. “I kept up with my training, but she had serious issues… I had never encountered someone who had experienced such deep abuse from a young age. (She) became my project.
“But I only discovered the truth (about the people out to ruin him) because one day she broke down… and that’s when things turned ugly.”
After a falling out with Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Bosnich joined Chelsea, but his life spiraled following his failed drug test.
“I had 18 tests throughout my career and was always clean,” Bosnich recounted. “On the day I got caught, I had what amounted to a tenth (of a gram of cocaine), an insignificant amount; forensic specialists at the hearing noted I could have accidentally touched it.
“She (Anderton) was a regular user, but I didn’t want to place the blame on her or hide behind her.”
“The worst decision I made after the drugs test was to go into a meltdown. I thought, ‘Everyone believes I’m guilty. You know what? Forget the world, forget everything!’ I became disillusioned. Had I remained sober, showing the truth about those who were responsible would have been the best way to respond.
“But that was on me and I chose that path.”
The interview exposes how Bosnich’s cocaine addiction took over, confining him to the couch with TV and video games.
At one point, he nearly shot his own father with an airgun, mistaking him for an intruder.
He asserts that his gradual return to the public eye as a TV pundit was aided by similarly enigmatic figures as those he believes were intent on his destruction.
“They took me under their wing, promising to keep those harmful influences away from me, with two conditions: first, that I stop using drugs, and second, that I resume my training,” he explained.
Buford Balony says: If you were to listen to him & Robbie Slater (aka David Warner & Anthony Watts, are they really the same person?) arguing on Fox Sports, you would think he was never off it.