From the 'Butcher of Bilbao' to Brazil's Animal', Suarez has joined football's most notorious villains... but who else makes the top 10?
- MARTIN SAMUEL: Diego Maradona is on Little Luis Suarez's side... now that's a turn-up for the books!
After Luis Suarez confirmed his status as the pantomime villain
of world football, Sportsmail takes a look at some of the most
controversial characters that the game has produced. From the Butcher of
Bilbao to the Brazilian 'animal', it's a quite frightening list of
misdemeanours. But who comes out as the number one pariah in football
history?
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Luis Suarez, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane and Maradona... who makes the top 10 villains list of the beautiful game?
- After Luis Suarez's four-month bite ban, Sportsmail reviews football's all-time top 10 villains
- Manchester United legends Roy Keane and Eric Cantona feature
- Joey Barton, Duncan Ferguson and Kevin Muscat are included
After Luis Suarez confirmed his status as the pantomime villain of world football, Sportsmail takes a look at some of the most controversial characters that the game has produced.
From
the Butcher of Bilbao to the Brazilian ‘animal’, it’s a quite
frightening list of misdemeanours. But who comes out as the number one
pariah in football history?
10. Harald Schumacher
Arguably
guilty of the worst foul in World Cup history, the West German collided
with Patrick Battiston, the French defender, leaving him unconscious at
the 1982 World Cup in Spain. The Frenchman also lost three teeth in the
incident. Bizarrely, the referee awarded the free-kick to Germany.
Shocking: Patrick Battiston (left) lost three teeth after being fouled by Harald Schumacher (right) in 1982
9. Eric Cantona
A
misunderstood philosopher or plain nasty? Certainly, there were a
couple of screws loose in the mind of this Manchester United legend, who
was banned for nine months and ordered to do 120 hours of community
service after launching a kung-fu kick after being verbally abused by
Matthew Simmons, a Crystal Palace supporter, during a match at Selhurst
Park in 1995.
The Frenchman was dismissed six times in the Premier League for Manchester United, averaging a red card every 24 games.
Into the stands: Eric Cantona was banned for nine months after his kung-fu kick on a Crsytal Palace fan
8. Edmundo
The
man nicknamed as ‘The Animal’ must go down as Brazil’s most
controversial player. The striker was sent off an extraordinary seven
times in 1997 alone and in a career littered with scuffles, feuds,
manslaughter charges and a brief prison sentence, Edmundo earned a
reputation as one of football’s greatest villains.
His
relationship at Vasco de Gama with strike partner Romario constantly
hit the headlines, with the two always squabbling but forming a potent
partnership, as Manchester United discovered in a 3-1 defeat in Brazil
at the FIFA Club World Championship in 2000.
In 1999, he came under fire from animal rights organisations after he
hired a circus to perform in his back garden and served whisky and beer
to a chimpanzee called Pedrinho.
Feisty character: Edmundo was sent off seven times in 1997 and has spent a brief spell in prison in the past
7. Andoni Goikoetxea
‘The Butcher of Blibao’ scythed down a young Diego Maradona when playing for Atheltic Bilbao against Barcelona in 1983.
The
dreadful lunge severely damaged Maradona’s ankle and it is alleged that
the Basque defender keeps the boot that committed the crime in a glass
case at home and that he would wheel it out at parties to show guests.
Hacked down: Andoni Goikoetxea brutally scythed down Diego Maradona during the 1983 Copa del Rey final
In agony: The brutal challenge by Goikoetxea left Maradona with a severely damaged ankle
6. Roy Keane
A
serial winner but also a serial offender, there were moments of
shocking lunacy that verged on that of a sociopath. The knee-high smash
into Alfe-Inge Haaland and the stamp on Gareth Southgate were startling
as the red mist descended on the Irishman. The assault on Haaland was a
response to an incident several years before when Haaland had stood over
Keane as the United man suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury.
Keane,
who also left the World Cup in South Korea in 2002 after a furious
showdown with manager Mick McCarthy, wrote in his autobiography: ‘I
f****** hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you c***.
And don't ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries.’
Horror tackle: Roy Keane (left) was sent off for his premeditated lunge on Alfe-Inge Haaland (bottom) in 2001
5. Duncan Ferguson
Perhaps
the most uncompromising (and frightening) centre forward that English
football has seen, ‘Big Dunc’ was convicted of assault four times, the
most famous being his headbutt aimed at Raith Rovers’ John McStay in
1994, for which he received a three month prison sentence.
He also butted a policeman, beat up a supporter on crutches and an
assault on a fisherman at a hotel. He has since reinvented himself as a
pioneering coach and he is working closely with the Everton first-team
under Roberto Martinez.
Bang: Duncan Fergusson served a three-month prison sentence for headbutting John McStay in 1994
4. Joey Barton
Displaying
his backside to Everton fans at Goodison Park, stubbing out a cigar in
the face of Manchester City youngster Jamie Tandy and not forgetting a
74-day prison sentence for assault, Barton is Britain’s most
highly-charged footballer.
He
also brought shame on himself in a QPR shirt when he lashed out at
Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero, for which he was banned for 12 games.
Now rehabilitated as ‘football’s philosopher king’, to quote David
Dimbleby, Barton was recently invited to be a panellist on BBC’s
Question Time.
Bad boy: Joey Barton (right) was sent off for lashing out at Carlos Tevez (left) in 2012
3. Diego Maradona
The
Argentine has always been one of the most divisive figures in world
football. The Hand of God, that horrendous kick on an Athletico Bilbao
defender and the mad gaze into a television camera at the 1994 World
Cup, Maradona was always one to attract controversy.
He
was suspended for 15 months in 1991 following a positive test for
cocaine while playing for Napoli and handed a suspended jail sentence
for shooting journalists with an air rifle in 1998.
Troubled time: Maradona is one of the most divisive footballers ever to grace the world stage
Bye! The Argentina captain was sent home from the 1994 World Cup after failing a drugs test for ephedrine
2. Kevin Muscat
The
former Millwall and Wolves defender was sent off 12 times in his career
and was forced to come to a £250,000 agreement at the High Court with
former Charlton midfielder Matthew Holmes in 2004.
Holmes
suffered a broken tibia after a tackle by then Wolves defender Muscat
in an FA Cup game in February 1998. The no-nonsense Aussie became known
for his brutal reducers and was described by Birmingham City defender
Martin Grainger as ‘the most hated man in football.’
Reducer: Kevin Muscat (left) got a notorious reputation for some horror challenges during his career
Villian: Former Millwall captain Muscat was once describes as 'the most hated man in football'
1. Luis Suarez
The
shoulder-munching Uruguayan has become the pantomime villain of world
football, biting three players – Otman Bakkal, Branislav Ivanovic and
Giorgio Chiellini – in the space of four years.
Throw
in the racist abuse aimed at Manchester United’s Patrice Evra (and
Suarez’s subsequent refusal to shake the Frenchman’s hand) and it makes
for a rather unpleasant character. Three bites and you’re out, Luis.
Top dog: Luis Suarez has gained a villainous reputation in football for several offences
Hungry: Suarez (left) has been banned for four months by FIFA for his third opponent biting offence
Disgrace: Suarez (left) was found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra (right) and banned for eight games
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