SIR Mo Farah has been sensationally accused of attacking a couple in a hotel gym in a poisonous war of words with fellow long distance running legend Haile Gebrselassie.
The Ethiopian star, 46, accused the British Olympic hero, 36, of "disgraceful conduct" while staying at his luxury Yaya Africa Athletics Village Hotel in Addis Ababa.
His staff claim they reported Mo to police for "attacking" a married athlete and his wife in the complex's gym.
Gebrselassie, who is a double Olympic gold medallist, also claims that the British star failed to pay his £2,170 service bill even after he was allegedly given a 50 per cent discount.
Sir Mo Farah strongly denies the outlandish allegations made against him.
The bitter public spat began when Farah, 36, claimed in an Instagram video that he lost two phones, a watch and £2,500 when his travel bag was ransacked while staying at the hotel.
He said Gebrselassie had failed to investigate the alleged theft properly and ignored his text messages.
Mo, who is in training for Sunday's London Marathon, immediately moved out of the hotel as he “didn’t feel comfortable” insisting he tried to contact Gebrselassie.
The Ethiopian, 46, hit back on Twitter and said he is considering suing for defamation.
A source close to Gebrselassie descirbed the alleged brawl involving four-time Olympic hero Mo.
He said: “It was in the gym. A man and a woman, a couple were working out.
“So was Mo. They were also using the equipment.
“Mo got angry because he thought they were following him. They were just doing their exercises.
“He got very angry and started to beat and kick the guy. The woman tried to interfere and then he started kicking and beating her.
“That’s why I know. They went to the police to write a report.
“Haile went to the police and he was protecting him, he’s a famous guy, you cannot do this. He got away with it.
“The whole entourage they were playing around food. It’s difficult to say.
“Mo is the first person to have stuff stolen from Yaya.
“The strange thing is two days before the robbery he gave the safety box back to reception. Two days later, all of a sudden there was a theft.”
Mo said he returned from a run on March 23 to find his case busted open and items stolen.
Five people were arrested but released without charge.
Sir Mo is adamant the row will not distract him as he aims to be the first British man in 26 years to win the London Marathon.
His spokesman said he is disappointed by Gebrselassie’s response and “continued reluctance by the hotel and its owner to take responsibility for this robbery”.
He also denied the counter-claims made against Somaliam-born British national Mo.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Brit runner said: "Mo is disappointed with this statement and the continued reluctance by the hotel and its owner to take responsibility for this robbery.
"Mo disputes all of these claims which are an effort to distract from the situation, where members of his hotel staff used a room key and stole money and items from Mo Farah's room (there was no safe as it was faulty, and Mo requested a new one).
"Police reports confirm the incident and the hotel admitted responsibility and were in contact with Mo's legal advisor.
"The hotel even offered to pay Mo the amount stolen, only to withdraw the offer when he prematurely left the hotel and moved to other accommodation, due to security concerns.
"Despite many attempts to discuss this issue privately with Mr Gebrselassie, he did not respond but now that he has, we would welcome him or his legal team getting in touch so that this matter can be resolved."
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