Sports
All footballers desire to win and most ceaselessly the desire to plot an advantage can lead to rules being broken.
There will constantly be avid gamers spicy to use the darkish arts to trusty a marginal plot or to seal victory for their teams.
This will additionally put together off the pitch, with a whole lot of avid gamers caught breaking the rules in practising or even outside of football. Ceaselessly, it is miles portion of their genius or what makes them huge.
Here, a discover at some high-profile examples of footballers who famously broke rules in varied ways all the design through their careers…
32. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer spent 11 seasons at Manchester United and scored 126 objectives in 366 video games for the Crimson Devils, together with an fable later winner in the 1999 Champions League closing in opposition to Bayern Munich.
Solskjaer’s red card in opposition to Newcastle in 1998 has also won myth website. Norwegian striker chased down Magpies midfielder Rob Lee and scythed him correct down to quit a sure goalscoring alternative plain in the game. It earned him a straight red card from referee Uriah Rennie, a standing ovation from the Manchester United followers and the effectively-known “hairdryer medication” from Sir Alex Ferguson.
31. Joey Barton
Genuine through his profession and likewise since his retirement from football, Joey Barton has in no design been too a ways remote from controversy.
The worn midfielder has spent time in penal complex for assault and used to be Interested by a whole lot of violent incidents in his taking part in days. And more recently, he has bought criticism for his controversial feedback on female footballers and pundits. His ideal ban came from making a wager, although: he used to be speculated to enjoy placed 1,260 bets between 2006 and 2016, in a huge breach of FA regulations. He used to be suspended for 18 months.
30. Juanito
Juanito is a Precise Madrid myth and a participant who is remembered fondly to this day at the Santiago Bernabeu, having tragically handed away in a car accident at the age of factual 37.
An very ideal dribbler who received 5 La Liga titles and two UEFA Cups with Madrid, he used to be also a controversial personality. In 1978, Juanito used to be banned for 2 years from European competitions after assaulting referee Adolf Prokop in a game in opposition to Grasshoppers. In 1987, he used to be suspended for four years after deliberately stamping on Lothar Matthaus’ face in a game in opposition to Bayern Munich.
29. Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole used to be fined by the Premier League after an illegal assembly with Chelsea in 2005, but moved from Arsenal to the Blues the following year.
The worn England left-relieve claimed he had been left “trembling with exasperate” after Arsenal offered him wages of £55,000 per week and earned the nickname “Cashley” from infected Gunners followers, who waved unsuitable money at him on his return to the Emirates Stadium.
28. Paul Gascoigne
Paul Gascoigne is one of the most thrilling avid gamers ever produced by England, but the midfielder used to be in no design a ways remote from controversy, with a whole lot of tales of indiscipline all the design through his profession.
Gascoigne, who fought alcohol addiction even in his taking part in days, used to be not eminent of the 1998 World Cup by Glenn Hoddle on fable of he used to be not in shape and famously smashed up the supervisor’s resort room in exasperate. He also bought in trouble for an hideous flute party all the design through his time at Rangers, which introduced loss of life threats and a ample unprejudiced. Gazza claimed he used to be ignorant of its sectarian connotations and symbolic association with the Orange Picture.
27. Fernando Redondo
Argentina’s coach at the 1998 World Cup used to be their legendary defender Daniel Passarella, who had some odd suggestions. Passarella believed long hair used to be an interference for avid gamers and demanded immediate trims from the contributors of his squad.
Star striker Gabriel Batistuta agreed to attenuate his hair, but Claudio Caniggia and Fernando Redondo didn’t and were not eminent. The latter used to be a Champions League winner with Precise Madrid and used to be later voted into an AFA all-time XI. He unquestionably must were there.
26. Denis Cheryshev
Denis Cheryshev used to be born in Russia but came through the youth ranks at Precise Madrid and scored his first aggressive goal for Los Blancos in a Copa del Rey conflict in opposition to Cadiz in December 2015.
Nonetheless, he have to not were taking part in at all, having picked up three yellow cards in the cup competition the earlier season while on mortgage for Villarreal. Madrid were duly thrown out of the Copa del Rey and Cheryshev went on to play factual seven video games for the club.
25. Kepa Arrizabalaga
Kepa Arrizabalaga was the world’s most costly goalkeeper when he signed for Chelsea from Athletic Club for £71.6 million in the summer of 2018.
But the Basque introduced on controversy as he refused to be substituted by Maurizio Sarri in the 2019 League Cup closing. The Italian had wanted to carry on Willy Caballero for the penalties, but Kepa insisted on staying on. He used to be fined, but later claimed it used to be all a misunderstanding. Chelsea misplaced to Manchester City in the shootout.
24. Dickson Etuhu
Born in Nigeria, Dickson Etuhu grew up in London and started his profession with Manchester City.
The defensive midfielder went on to play for varied other English golf equipment, together with Sunderland and Fulham, and represented Nigeria at world degree. Later in his profession, he played in Sweden and used to be found guilty of match-fixing in 2019. Etuhu used to be banned for 5 years in 2020.
23. Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos conception he used to be being dapper by getting himself deliberately booked in opposition to Ajax in the Champions League in February 2019.
Admitting it to the media after the game in Amsterdam used to be less wise, although. UEFA investigated and gave the defender an further one-match ban. And without their captain, Madrid were thrashed 4-1 in the 2nd leg at dwelling.
22. Garrincha
Garrincha didn’t care about rules. He didn’t care about practising, either. Between weekend fits, the ideal Brazilian winger would bound on huge drinking binges along with his company and Botafogo on the whole needed to send club officials out to crawl him relieve.
An alcoholic and a womaniser, Garrincha played football to be pleased himself and received two World Cups (in 1958 and 1962) earlier than a decline as the drinking took its toll on his body. He died at the age of factual 49.
21. Carlos Tevez
Carlos Tevez jubilant Manchester City followers by snubbing a novel contract at Manchester United and crossing the derby divide in 2009.
But those followers can were less jubilant when the Argentine forward refused to reach on as a replace in a Champions League conflict away to Bayern Munich in September 2011. City were 2-0 down and supervisor Roberto Mancini asked Tevez to warmth up, but he didn’t switch and the Italian used to be infected. “He refused to switch in, he refused to reach onto the pitch,” Mancini talked about. “For me or not it is a unfriendly anxiousness on fable of it is miles most unlikely for a participant to refuse to play and attend the team.”
20. Ivan Toney
Ivan Toney’s promising profession for club and nation used to be interrupted by an eight-month ban for breaches of the FA’s making a wager rules in 2023.
The England striker admitted to 232 breaches, which included over and over placing bets on fits his team were obsessed on and even backing his club to lose on 13 times. He returned to motion with Brentford in January 2024.
19. Jack Grealish
Genuine through his time at Aston Villa, Jack Grealish bought into trouble when he went out for dinner in a London restaurant with team-mate Ross Barkley all the design through lockdown in December 2020.
It used to be the 2nd time the England attacker had broken COVID-19 restrictions, having been banned from driving for nine months and fined £82,499 after crashing his Vary Rover in March 2020.
18. Adrian Mutu
Adrian Mutu arrived at Chelsea amid powerful fanfare from Parma in 2003, but the hype rapidly grew to become to controversy when the Romanian forward used to be sacked for utilizing cocaine.
Mutu used to be handed a seven-month suspension and returned to Italy, the attach he went on to play for Juventus and Fiorentina. He used to be also ordered to pay a invoice of £14.6 million after he used to be forced to recede Chelsea.
17. Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand spent 12 years at Manchester United and used to be vastly winning in Sir Alex Ferguson’s huge aspect, winning six Premier League titles and a Champions League crown in an array of silverware.
But there used to be controversy early in the centre-relieve’s profession at Typical Trafford as he skipped over a medication take a look at and used to be hit with an eight-month ban and a £50,000 unprejudiced. For that reason, he ended up lacking Euro 2004, but returned to England accountability later that year. Ferdinand used to be also convicted of drink-driving earlier in his profession.
16. Marco Materazzi
Italy defender Marco Materazzi would possibly well also leer himself as the victim of one of the most effectively-known devices of aggression in World Cup historical previous, but he used to be also the instigator.
Materazzi used to be grounded by a brutal headbutt in the chest by France’s Zinedine Zidane in an incident which timid the world and saw the French myth despatched off in disgrace in his closing ever match as a official. But Materazzi had been winding up Zidane. “I’d rather enjoy your sister than your shirt,” he told the French captain. Zidane violently snapped, but Materazzi’s role in the incident used to be also deeply inappropriate.
15. Joao Pinto
Portugal striker Joao Pinto used to be given a lengthy ban after punching Argentine referee Angel Sanchez in the abdominal following a red card in opposition to South Korea at the 2002 World Cup.
Pinto used to be despatched off for a prime-half of kind out from at the relieve of on Park Ji-Sung in his nation’s 1-0 defeat. He used to be suspended for eight months and didn’t play for Portugal again.
14. Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff used to be varied. One of the game’s deepest thinkers, the Dutch myth is arguably the most influential figure in the historical previous of football.
One of the simplest avid gamers ever, Cruyff was a high coach and used to be also an innovator. He used to be stubborn, too. At the 1974 World Cup, the Netherlands had agreed a deal to employ Adidas shirts, but Cruyff had a contract with Puma and would not relieve down, so he played in a jersey featuring factual two stripes while his team-mates wore three.
13. Mario Balotelli
“Why constantly me?” asked Mario Balotelli by the employ of a message on his undershirt after scoring for Manchester City in opposition to Manchester United in 2011. Why certainly?
At City by myself, the Italy forward fought along with his team-mates in practising and with supervisor Roberto Mancini, map his rental on fireplace as fireworks were lit in his bathroom, threw darts at a youth-team participant, reportedly ran up £10,000 in car parking fines and used to be puzzled by police after an accident when they found huge bundles of profit his car.
12. Harald Schumacher
Harald “Toni” Schumacher used to be German Footballer of the Three hundred and sixty five days in 1984 and 1986 and featured in two World Cup finals for West Germany in the Eighties, but he’ll constantly be remembered for his brutal challenge on France’s Patrick Battiston.
Schumacher flew previous the ball and clattered into Battiston in the semi-finals of the 1982 World Cup, leaving the defender with broken ribs and lacking teeth. He also ended up in a coma. The two later reconciled, but the incident is composed considered as one of the most controversial in World Cup historical previous and in a French newspaper poll at the time, Schumacher used to be conception of less favorite than Adolf Hitler.
11. Romario
Romario is one of Brazil’s simplest-ever avid gamers and used to be the important person, alongside Bebeto, as the South People received the 1994 World Cup. But the striker made his have rules.
At Barcelona, he made a pact with coach Johan Cruyff that he would possibly well off to Carnaval in Brazil if he scored twice in the club’s next match. He did, and promptly asked for his substitution, asserting his airplane used to be leaving. But the Catalan club needed to send out a search party in Brazil when he didn’t file relieve. In a La Liga game for Barça, he punched Diego Simeone. At Valencia, he refused to toddle and barely trained. At Flamengo, he used to be sacked for his power partying. And at Fluminense, he attacked a fan who threw six live chickens onto the practising pitch in boom at the club’s sad invent.
10. Frank Rijkaard
Frank Rijkaard is broadly conception of to be one of football’s good guys, but the Dutch myth misplaced the space in the Netherlands’ World Cup closing-16 conflict in opposition to West Germany in 1990.
In an ill-tempered match, tackles were flying in in every single attach the predicament. Rijkaard, upset at being booked, spat in the relieve of Voller’s head after the German striker had been harshly despatched off. At the moment, Rijkaard used to be off too and the two argued as they left the pitch. Rijkaard, nicknamed “llama” following the spitting incident, later apologised and the pair even starred together in a butter advert on television.
9. Claudio Cannigia
Claudio Caniggia and Diego Maradona fashioned a courageous partnership in assault for Argentina and likewise for Boca Juniors in the Nineties.
By that time, each and each avid gamers had tested obvious for cocaine and earned lengthy bans. Maradona’s failed take a look at introduced an end to his time at Napoli in 1991, while Cannigia’s came all the design through a spell at Roma two years later and a 13-month suspension saw him omit the 1993 Copa The usa. In 2002, Caniggia used to be also shown a red card for insulting the referee in Argentina’s game in opposition to Sweden, changing into the first participant to be despatched off from the bench in a World Cup.
8. Rivaldo
Brazil received a plain corner in their World Cup 2002 neighborhood game in opposition to Turkey and Hakan Unsal kicked the ball forcefully at Rivaldo, who had been losing time.
The ball struck the Brazilian on the thigh, but he collapsed in a heap, keeping his face. Unsal used to be shown the red card, but boos followed from the crowd when the incident used to be shown on the ample shows. Rivaldo used to be hit with a ample unprejudiced by a disciplinary committee, but talked about: “I’m gentle about the punishment. I’m not sorry about anything else. I was each and each the victim and the person who bought fined.”
7. Roberto Rojas
With 20 minutes left to play in a famous World Cup qualifier in opposition to Brazil at the Maracana in 1989 and his aspect a goal down, Chile goalkeeper Roberto Rojas went down keeping his head.
Rojas claimed to were hit by a firework which had been thrown onto the pitch and used to be smouldering about a yard away. The goalkeeper, his head bloodied, used to be carried off on a stretcher and the match used to be unfinished. Chile, trailing 1-0, had wanted a win to maintain hopes of World Cup qualification alive and Rojas had inflicted the head damage with a razor blade hidden inner his glove. Chile were banned from the 1994 World Cup, while Rojas used to be suspended for lifestyles – together with the coach and the team doctor. He bought a pardon in 2001.
6. Thierry Henry
France beat the Republic of Eire 2-1 on combination in the teams’ World Cup play-off tie in November 2009 to advance to the tournament in South Africa the following year.
Robbie Keane’s goal in the 2nd leg had taken the tie to time previous legislation. In the 113th minute, Thierry Henry then twice aged his hand to govern a ball from Florent Malouda at the a ways post and recount it into the course of William Gallas to obtain the winner. Eire asked for a replay and even appealed to play the World Cup as “a Thirty third team”, but FIFA talked about no. Needless to say, Henry is not very favorite in Eire.
5. Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio produced one of the most hideous moments in Premier League historical previous when he pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground in Sheffield Wednesday’s game in opposition to Arsenal in September 1998.
Following an hideous skirmish between the two devices of avid gamers, Di Canio used to be shown the red card by Alcock and pushed the professional, who stumbled and in the conclude fell to the ground in amusing kind. The Italian used to be banned for 11 video games.
4. Zinedine Zidane
The 2006 World Cup closing used to be finely poised at 1-1 with 10 minutes of time previous legislation closing when something out of the ordinary occurred – France captain Zinedine Zidane floored Italy defender with a brutal headbutt in the chest.
Zidane used to be despatched off and Italy went on to win on penalties. It used to be his closing match for France and the closing 2nd of his very ideal profession. Talking afterwards, he printed he had been over and over provoked by Materazzi, but went on to apologise to “all youth and each person who saw the act.”
3. Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona used to be banned for nine months in 1995 after launching himself at a Crystal Palace fan and connecting with a “kung fu” kick in Manchester United’s match at Selhurst Park in January 1995.
Cantona had been hit with a barrage of xenophobic abuse by Palace fan Matthew Simmons and didn’t play again for the relaxation of the season. His simplest feel sorry about? “I’d enjoy cherished to enjoy kicked him even more difficult,” he later talked about.
2. Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez produced the 2nd-most effectively-known World Cup handball in 2010. The Uruguay striker stopped a obvious Ghana goal along with his fingers and used to be despatched off, but his intervention plain in time previous legislation took the quarter-closing conflict to penalties and the South People ended up winning the shootout.
Four years later, Suarez used to be obsessed on yet more controversy as he bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini in a neighborhood game at Brazil 2014 and used to be hit with a four-month ban by FIFA.
1. Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona’s handball in opposition to England at Mexico 86 map Argentina on their formula to World Cup glory and the incident is central to the website and the narrative of the legendary quantity 10.
Reacting quick after a miskick from England’s Steve Hodge, Maradona aged his hand to beat Peter Shilton to the ball, lifting it over the goalkeeper’s head and into the web. After scoring, Maradona entreated his team-mates to enjoy fun with him in uncover to handbook sure of suspicion. Later, he known as it the “Hand of God”.
