The seven deadly sins of football: Wrath - Tony Adams to Craig Bellamy (original) (raw)

Adams swears at ref on TV - Arsenal, 1989

As part of a Granada TV programme called Out of Order, David Elleray became the first referee to be miked up during a game. That game was a particularly tempestuous affair between Millwall and Arsenal, in which almost every word spoken by the players – who had no idea Elleray was wired for sound – had to be bleeped out. Especially those of Tony Adams, the Arsenal captain. When Elleray, a Harrow schoolmaster who treated players like pupils, declined to award a goal after Adams had clearly bundled the ball over the line, he lost it, announcing: "That's my goal!" with a frighteningly pre-pubescent squeak before calling Elleray a "fucking cheat". Elleray booked Adams, prompting a gloriously earnest response of: "But I'm frustrated!" Elleray called it the most embarrassing experience of his career. Adams had a few other contenders. RS

Aldridge goes bananas - Ireland, 1994

Sometimes it helps to let off a little steam. And maybe a little more. And then, perhaps, some more. Jack Charlton's Republic of Ireland were trailing 2-0 to Mexico in the sweltering heat at the 1994 World Cup when the manager tried to introduce John Aldridge for Tommy Coyne. What followed cemented the former Liverpool striker's place in Irish football folklore. Aldridge responded to a Fifa delegate's attempt to delay the substitution with a tirade of foul-mouthed, finger-jabbing abuse that was caught on camera. Charlton also became embroiled in a grappling match with the official, and both manager and striker, who scored Ireland's consolation, were punished by Fifa. "To be honest, I lost it," Aldridge later said with glorious understatement. AH

Alfaro gives the finger - Sevilla, 2004

Defender Pablo Alfaro, who played for Sevilla between 2000 and 2005, was a qualified doctor who drummed up plenty of business for himself by maiming opponents. A consummate and clever hardman, he excelled himself in one match against Atlético Madrid – by deciding the best way to man-mark opponent Toché was to stick his finger up the poor unsuspecting debutant's arse. "That's a proper doctor, always on call," said one columnist. "You go up for a corner and he's checking your prostate." SL

Arsenal purse war - Rome, 1970

It is not uncommon for a fight among footballers to be referred to as "handbags". It is less common for it to actually be caused by handbags. But that, apparently, is what was behind the 1970 fight between Arsenal and Lazio players in and outside a Rome restaurant after a 2–2 Fairs Cup draw. The Italian club presented the visiting players with souvenir leather bags, which were derided as "effeminate". Arsenal's players started to throw the bags around the restaurant, but then a Lazio player grabbed one, threw it into Bob McNab's face and, in the words of Arsenal's Frank McLintock, "we all piled in. For a while, it was like the wild west". Uefa swiftly banned post-match socialising. "Looking back," the Arsenal defender John Roberts said later, "those purses were lovely." SB

Barson packs a piece - Aston Villa, 1919-1922

Either side of the first world war, Frank Barson was the game's first real hard man, a preposterous specimen with thighs like tree trunks and hair greased back so tight that it came within an extra comb on terminally restricting the bloodflow. He was once banned for seven months after cleaning out a Fulham player. And after one especially zesty display during his time at Barnsley, he had to be smuggled out of Goodison Park to avoid a group of Everton fans who wanted to discuss a couple of tactical subtleties. Some stories suggest he brought a gun into the manager's office to accelerate discussions over a pay rise. And he unashamedly spoke of his friendship with the Fowler brothers, who were later hanged for murder. RS

Batista coup - Uruguay, 1986

Ally McCoist had been dismayed at Scotland's draw for the 1986 World Cup finals. "I've heard of a group of death," he had said, having seen the Scots drawn with Denmark, Germany and Uruguay. "But this has to be the group of certain death." The South Americans certainly concurred. Going into the final group game, Uruguay, considered dark horses, knew a draw would see them through to the knockout phase, while defeat would have them eliminated. Cue absolute carnage. Some 40 seconds into the match, Jose Batista hacked horribly at Gordon Strachan as the midfielder attempted to cushion possession from a throw-in. Batista leapt in from behind, carving right through the back of Strachan, and made absolutely no contact with the ball. By the time the French referee, Joel Quiniou, produced the red card some 56 seconds of the match had elapsed – the quickest sending off in World Cup history. That rather set the tone for the Uruguayan tactics, the South Americans kicking the Scottish threat to pieces as they had done to the Danes. One of the Scottish Football Association delegation later described their opponents as "scum of the earth". Omar Borras, the Uruguay coach, earned himself a touchline ban for the match against Argentina after criticising the officiating in the Scotland scrap. DF

Battle of Montevideo - Celtic v Racing Club, 1967

Celtic, the European champions, and the South American champions, Argentina's Racing Club, battled – in every sense – for the right to call themselves the best club in the world. Having drawn 2–2 over two legs – before the second, in Buenos Aires, the Celtic goalkeeper Ronnie Simpson was knocked out by a missile thrown from behind his goal, while Jimmy Johnstone needed to shower at half-time to wash all the spit from his hair – a deciding playoff was scheduled in Montevideo. The result is remembered as the most violent match in the history of the game. Celtic lost 1-0 but won 4-2 on red cards, and the flailing referee needed Uruguayan riot police to help him control the players. "I would not bring a team back here for all the money in the world," said the Celtic manager Jock Stein. SB

Batty smacked - Blackburn Rovers, 1995

The Champions League can bring idiocy to a wider audience. Graeme Le Saux and David Batty took various differences with them to Russia when Blackburn lost 3-0 to Spartak Moscow in November 1995. The left-back believed that Batty tended to retreat too far on his flank and, with the game barely begun, was incensed when the midfielder collided with him. There was a confrontation, with Le Saux breaking his hand because he hadn't clenched his fist properly before throwing a punch. The pair were also in a volatile frame of mind because the club had floundered since winning the League title earlier that year. KM

Beckenbauer off in a strop - SC 1906 Munich, 1958

Like the Queen, you never touch the Kaiser. As a 13-year-old, Franz Beckenbauer was all set to join TSV 1860 Munich, the most successful club in his home town. But the history of German and European football took a very different turn when the young Kaiser, then playing for SC 1906 Munich, was hit in the face by an 1860 player during a match. "On the spot, I decided to go to Bayern instead," he said years later. "It wasn't so much the hand of God as a slap from a Sechzger player that brought me there." RH

Belgian waffle - Euro 2000

Too many home-grown commentators veer towards the bland, but this criticism could hardly be levelled at the Belgian commentator for RTBF who, when Belgium keeper Filip de Wilde trod on the ball to let Sweden in for the opening goal in Euro 2000, reacted trenchantly: "What a c**t!" , before calming down and adding for emphasis: "what a c**t!" RTBF later toned down the commentary for replays – replacing it with the rather anodyne "Quel idiot! Quel idiot!". Which really isn't quite as good. WB

Bellamy's swinger - Liverpool, 2007

Craig Bellamy only spent a season at Liverpool but, in that brief time, he arguably made more of an impact on his team-mate John Arne Riise's calves than the Kop. Rafael Benítez had taken his side to Portugal for some warm weather training ahead of the Champions League knock-out tie against Barcelona in 2007 and, after five days of work-outs, granted his squad an evening to let their hair down at the Vale do Lobo resort where they were staying. Little did he know that his team would be left fractured courtesy of that dreaded combination ... golf and karaoke. The evening had begun quietly enough at Monty's Restaurant and Bar, the players enjoying a group meal, only for things to turn distinctly lively as the post-dinner drinks flowed. "There had been a lot of drinking and everyone was enjoying themselves, but it all went wrong when Craig tried to drag John up for a song," a "source" told the News of the World. "There was a karaoke competition going on, but John's a quiet one off the pitch and wasn't having it at all. It started off as a bit of a lark with some of the other lads having a go but then it got completely out of hand. John went ballistic because Craig wouldn't take no for an answer. He was screaming at Craig to leave him alone, saying he wouldn't do it and yelling insults." The pair squared up to each other, trading expletives, before other players stepped in to intervene, the group subsequently dispersing and heading to their rooms. Yet Bellamy apparently felt he had lost face in front of his team-mates and, having armed himself with a putter, tracked down Riise in his hotel room and swung the club at the full-back's legs. The Norwegian suffered bruising but, having issued apologies to Benítez, both were picked at Camp Nou. Cue a 2-1 away win, a first home defeat for the European Cup holders for 13 European matches, and the goals scored by Bellamy and Riise. True to form, Bellamy's celebration involved an imitation golf swing. AH