Of the great spectacles that football has produced over the years, some of the biggest talking points are the most controversial moments in the sport’s history.
Some have been so shocking that they’ve changed the game. These moments will forever be talking points among fans and those involved with the beautiful game.
Paolo di Canio Pushes The Referee
Just before halftime in the match between Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal during the 1998 season, a large fracas occurred between many of each team’s stars.
One of those stars was Paolo Di Canio, who has since built a reputation as being both a hot-head and overly passionate. The scrum resulted in referee Paul Alcock showing a red card to Di Canio, who then shoved Alcock to the ground.
To this day, the Italian claims that it wasn’t an aggressive shove, more a sign of disapproval, but it still goes down as part of his fiery legacy.
Luis Suarez Bites His THIRD Victim
While he all but single-handedly pulled Liverpool to what was nearly their first Premier League title, Luis Suarez will be best debated for his foul play.
Among other points of controversy, the act of biting has stuck throughout his career as he progressively moved to bigger leagues and bit bigger players.
It started for Ajax when he sunk his teeth into PSV player Otman Bakkal in 2010. Flash forward to 2013, the Uruguayan is an established Premier League star but had to bite Branislav Ivanovic of Chelsea to receive a ten-match ban.
But the most infamous of all, which saw him slapped with a four-month suspension, was his toothy attack on Italian centre-back Giorgio Chiellini during their matchup in the 2014 World Cup.
Eric Cantona Kung-Fu Kicks A Fan
In a must-win match for Manchester United away to Crystal Palace, temperatures were reaching boiling point.
Eric Cantona, United’s star player, had been the focal point of the Palace defence and kicked out at Richard Shaw to receive a red card in the 48th minute.
As the irate Frenchman walked down the touchline to the dressing room, his attention was suddenly turned to one Matthew Simmons.
Reports claim that Simmons had shouted abuse at Cantona, and this resulted in him leaping up the sponsorship board to boot the Crystal Palace fan.
Cantona’s old team are currently at 6/1 to win the Premier League this season.
Frank Lampard's World Cup 'goal' in 2010
England and Germany have been football adversaries for decades, with the heat of the last-16 World Cup match in South Africa adding to the rivalry.
With Germany 2-1 up, Frank Lampard dinked a shot from just outside of the box which hit the crossbar, crossed the line, and bounced out. The German goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, played on as if nothing had happened, and referee Jorge Larrionda bought it.
The goal that never stood forced FIFA to introduce goal-line technology and it definitely wouldn't have occurred at this year's World Cup, as VAR was in full force to iron out any contentious issues.
Zinedine Zidane Headbutts Marco Materazzi
Zinedine Zidane was one of the greatest players of his generation and one of the greatest of all-time.
He achieved almost everything as a player and looks to extend his legacy behind the scenes. He’s currently a director at Juventus, who are now at 6/1 to win the Champions League this season.
However, one of his most infamous moments came in his last ever game as a player, in the World Cup final, no less.
After walking past Marco Materazzi, the lanky Italian said something to Zidane to spark a white rage which resulted in the Frenchman turning and powering a mighty headbutt into the chest of Materazzi.
*Odds subject to change - correct at time of writing*
