In light of Ricardo Fuller’s incredible red card for Stoke City against West Ham United this weekend, football fans worldwide were reminded that sendings-off can be almost as entertaining as goals.
Fuller’s sending-off doesn’t quite scrape the top 10, but a very similar incident does…
10 - Kieron Dyer & Lee Bowyer for Newcastle United vs. Aston Villa, 2/4/2005
Unlike the Fuller incident, these two players both received their marching orders for their part in an inter-necine melee. Battle-hardened Lee Bowyer brought his tough upbringing to bear on Kieron Dyer, who at least managed to rip Bowyer’s shirt by way of retaliation:
Free-falling Newcastle had to do without the pair for three games after this unsightly incident, which came late on during a 3-0 loss to Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Dyer now plies his trade for West Ham United where, curiously enough Lee Bowyer also returned to in 2006.
9 - Dean Windass for Aberdeen vs. Dundee United, 9/11/1997
Evergreen striker Dean Windass struts his stuff with Hull City in the English Premier League a decade after he played in the Scottish equivalent with Aberdeen. But the Dandies had to do without their star striker for six games after the Yorkshireman contrived to get sent off three times in the one game.
First he picked up a second booking for a foul; then he mouthed off to the referee, resulting in a second red; and the cherry on top was when he saw a third for kicking the corner flag. Windass spent six games on the sidelines.
8 - Diego Maradona for Argentina vs. Brazil, 7/2/1982
The world said hello to a young Diego Maradona in the Spain ‘82 World Cup, and promptly shrank away in horror. Let this video show you a thousand words, most of them “ouch.” Remember: his victim, João Batista da Silva, had only been on the pitch for two minutes.
No matter: even after this incident Maradona had done enough to move from Boca Juniors to Barcelona for a world record transfer fee. And mere months after arriving at Camp Nou he was in hot water again: during a match against Sevilla the world’s finest player amused himself by kicking every Andalucian that moved and some who didn’t.
7 - Oliver Kahn for Bayern Munich vs. Hansa Rostock, 3/3/2001
Why would a goalkeeper ever be sent off for punching the ball away? Answer: if he did it in the opposition’s box when trying to score a last-minute equaliser.
None other than Oliver Kahn, the hero of Germany and Bayern Munich, attempted this particular stunt as his struggling side stood on the verge of a 3-2 defeat away to Hansa Rostock.
Up came the goalie for a corner and, rising above everyone at the far post, he propelled the ball goalwards with both hands. Out came a yellow, then a red, and a rather sheepish Kahn trudged off as Bayern fell to a shock defeat.
Still, Bayern ended up as Champions nonetheless as Patrik Andersson scored a dramatic last-minute equaliser at Hamburg on the final matchday to pip Schalke to the lead by a single point.
6 - Benjamin Massing for Cameroon vs. Argentina, 08/06/1990
Benjamin Massing essentially disappeared from public view after the World Cup, but it’s clear that he made his mark while at the tournament proper.
For in his side’s very first game - one that saw Cameroon take on the heroes of Argentina - Massing was sent off for one of the most reckless and feckless fouls ever seen in a major tournament.
The US Créteil man wasn’t even the first one to try to go in hard on Claudio Caniggia. Hitting on the break, the Argentine had already skipped past two challenges before Massing went in thigh-high on Caniggia.
So fierce was the challenge that Massing lost a boot in the process, which the referee helpfully pointed to before rushing to the aid of the felled Claudio. Jorge Burruchaga, incensed, issued a shove at Manning, who responded with an unbooted kick in his general direction. Then came the “who, me?” shrugs as referee Michel Vautrot sent him off.
Who cares? Cameroon were already 1-0 up by this time, and by scything down Atalanta’s forward Massing quite possibly prevented a last-minute equaliser from Argentina.
After serving out his suspension he was free to return to his usual role against England, against whom he fouled Gary Lineker in the box to concede one of two penalties for the Three Lions.
The former Diamant de Yaoundé man returned to Créteil after the tournament, but essentially disappeared from view after the 1990-91 season. Still, he’ll never be forgotten in Cameroon - nor the Caniggia household…
5 - Frank Rijkaard & Rudi Voller for Netherlands and West Germany, 24/6/1990
The Llama versus the Hesse. The Netherlands versus West Germany is always a heated occasion, and this classic encounter that saw Deutschland emerge as 2-1 victors was no different.
The vast, vast majority of this match was played with just ten men per team after Rudi Voller and Frank Rijkaard saw their marching orders for some of the most petty handbags - complemented with some disgusting spitting from Rijkaard - ever seen at a World Cup. See the video:
And that’s just some of what happened. There was apparently more spitting off the pitch, while Dutch goalkeeper Hans Van Breukelen also got involved by manhandling Voller for what he saw as diving. However, it was Rijkaard who came away from the incident in the most disgrace, given his spitting antics.
Still, all’s well that ends well. As Rijkaard later said, “That day I was wrong… I always had much respect for Rudi Voller. But I went berserk when I saw that red card. I talked to him after the match and I apologized. I’m very happy that he accepted. I have no bad feeling about him now.”
4 - David Beckham for Real Madrid vs. Murcia, 16/5/2004
Becks wasn’t the first nor the last player to be sent off for verbally abusing a referee, but the fashion in which he was bears mention.
A mere 36 minutes into the second last league game of 2003-04, the then-superstar put his Spanish phrasebook reading into employ by calling the referee, Turienzo Alvarez, a ‘hijo de puta.’ This most grave of Castilian insults means ‘son of a whore’, and resulted in the ex-Manchester United man taking the most undignified of early baths.
For a Real Madrid player to conduct himself in such a way - putting aside the fact that he was chief among the Galacticos who were supposed to be emblematic of the grand old club - saw monocles clink into champagne glasses Spain-wide. Naughty, naughty.
It was an ignominious end to the season for Beckham to cap what had been a poor campaign overall. Madrid finished a mere fourth, after all, and Beckham’s sending-off came as the blancos lost to Murcia, who were not only long since relegated but had for weeks occupied dead last in the table.
In 1998, Beckham received an equally scandalous red card when he was dismissed during the course of England’s World Cup second round defeat to Argentina for flicking a boot while lying prone on the turf at Diego Simeone.
3 - Antonio Rattin for Argentina vs. England, 23/7/1966
One-club man Antonio Rattin would be notable for his exploits with Boca Juniors and Argentina even if he wasn’t involved in one of the most controversial World Cup incidents of all time. Sadly for him, though, it is this event with which his name will always be associated.
As Argentina faced hosts England in the 1996 World Cup quarter-final, referee Rudolf Kreitlein sent off Argentina’s number ten for dissent, even though the referee wouldn’t have understood any of Rattin’s Spanish and Rattin was not a known German speaker.
To say that Rattin was upset would be to master the art of understatement. As you can see from the video, the then-26-year-old took several minutes to leave the pitch: upon doing so he caused a minor uproar by walking on the royal red carpet rather than on the proletarian sideline. After the match England manager Alf Ramsey forbade his players from swapping shirts with the side that had so insulted their hosts, but that was still 65 minutes away.
Argentina held their own for the remaining ten minutes of the first half, but eventually fell to a late goal from Geoff Hurst, the same man who would score a controversial hat-trick in the final against none other than West Germany.
As for the referee, Kreitlein was an up-and-comer with FIFA and domestically, but he was never again to don the whistle and notebook at full international level. Still, he seemed almost proud of his role in World Cup noteriety and seldom shied away from interviews in his later years.
Rattin, now at the ripe old age of 71, has entered retirement after a brief stint in the Argentine congress, where he ran on a conservative ticket.
2 - Paolo Di Canio for Sheffield Wednesday vs Arsenal, 26/09/1998
When deciding on this list, it wasn’t so much a case of “should Paolo Di Canio make it in” as “which Paolo Di Canio red card should we choose.” We’re spoilt for choice when dealing with the fiery Roman, but one card in particular does stand out.
It wasn’t a player who bore the wrath of his famous ire this time, but rather the referee. Whistler Paul Alcock tumbled to the deck as the then-Sheffield Wednesday forward stunned his home supporters by pushing the official, who had just shown him a red card for his part in a minor brawl.
Di Canio was banned for eleven games and given a £10,000 ban: Alcock, citing family stress and “continuous pins and needles,” said that he was considering legal action due to his reliance on pain-killers after the incident.
As for Paolo, his spell at Hillsborough didn’t last much longer, but his career did: he didn’t call time until this year, at the age of 40, after a spell with Cisco Roma.
1 - Zinedine Zidane for France vs. Italy, 9/7/2006
The headbutt heard round the world needs very little by way of introduction. Deep into extra time in the World Cup final, French legend Zinedine Zidane took exception to an off-the-ball comment from Italy’s Marco Materazzi and opted to respond with a fierce headbutt to the chest. Materazzi hit the deck in suitably theatrical fashion and ‘Zizou’ was invited to leave the pitch at his earliest convenience after referee Horacio Elizondo was informed of the episode by his linesman and fourth official.
This was a shocking incident made all the more amazing by the fact that this was Zidane’s last ever professional game prior to his retirement. France lost the final on penalties.
What was said? So far as is known from conflicting accounts, it was exactly what the ‘Matrix’ later revealed went on:
Zidane reacting to some mild shirt-pulling: If you want my shirt, I’ll give you it later.
Materazzi: I’d prefer your whore of a sister.
And thus ended one of the greatest midfielders of all time’s international career.
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