John Hartson was reunited with Eyal Berkovic in Israel on Friday , 17 years after booting his former West Ham team-mate in the head . The former Hammers striker kicked Berkovic full in the face after the Israeli midfielder struck him on the leg during a training ground incident caught on camera back in 1998 . Remarkably , having since made up following the ugly altercation all those years ago , the pair bumped into each other by chance in a Haifa cafe on Friday . John Hartson posted a picture Eyal Berkovic in Israel ... 17 years after kicking his former team-mate in the face . Hartson booted Berkovic full in the face during a training ground incident caught on camera back in 1998 . The former West Ham duo put on a public show of affection for the media a month after the incident . Hartson took to Twitter to share an image of the pair together in the Israeli city and said : 'Just caught up with this little play maker ... Nice lunch in Haifa ! Mr Berkovic . ' Former Wales international Hartson , who also played for Arsenal , Wimbledon , Coventry and Celtic during a 15-year playing career , is understood to have been giving an interview to an Israeli journalist when Berkovic approached wearing sunglasses . He is said to have asked his one-time team-mate : 'Recognise me ? ' , before the pair shared words and posed for the picture . Speaking to Sportsmail in 2010 about the about the incident , Hartson said : 'The Eyal Berkovic incident really blighted my career . It 's something I deeply regret . 'Eyal is a terrific fella and he made a lot of my goals at West Ham . I get asked about it all the time , even though it happened 12 years ago . ' Hartson regrets the incident and said in 2010 : 'Eyal is a terrific fella and made a lot of my goals at West Ham '
John Hartson booted Eyal Berkovic in the face during incident back in 1998 . The former England international was banned for two years and fined £25,000 after being found guilty of violent conduct. The former West Ham team-mates bumped into each other in Israel .