Over the past few decades, the Premier League has been the greatest advert of entertaining, thrilling football across the globe. Unlike Spain, Italy, Germany and France, the league always has several teams vying for the perch which makes each game as fascinating as the other.
The quality of football has been par excellence with the pace and frenetic nature of the Premier League not being matched by any league on the planet. Despite all the pretty, eye-catching football on the pitch, there have been a few ‘ugly’ incidents which have reared its head over the years.
While these incidents haven’t completely taken the sheen off the Premier League’s great achievements, they have been a blemish on an otherwise spotless past.
5 Eric Cantona
The Frenchman was one of the most gifted footballers to have graced the Theatre of Dreams. Whenever one talks of Cantona, one is instantly reminded of his delightful chip against Sunderland in 1996. However, a year earlier, Cantona had gotten himself on all the front pages for the wrong reason. In a game against Crystal Palace in 1995, Cantona infamously ‘kung-fu’ kicked a spectator in the crowd. Cantona had received his marching orders for the day and was continuingly being abused by the said fan. However, Cantona’s reaction was way over the top and it earned him a lengthy ban.
4 Roy Keane
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The next Manchester United player on the list is none other than the Irishman, Roy Keane. The midfielder enjoyed stellar seasons at Manchester United but it wasn’t without his fair share of controversy.
Keane was a tough-tackling midfielder and accumulated an appalling disciplinary record. Over 366 appearances in the league, he picked up 69 yellow cards in addition to 7 red cards.
3 Joey Barton
Joey Barton, the English journeyman, was embroiled in numerous controversies, some off the field and some on it. An energetic midfielder by trade, Barton would, unfortunately be remembered for his controversies on the pitch rather than his performances with the football.
Barton caused a stir when he was very vocal about the performances of his English peers at the 2006 World Cup. However, this wasn’t the only controversy Barton was a part of.
While at Manchester City, he stubbed a lit cigar into a youth team player’s eye during a Christmas party. In addition to this, in 2007, he was banned and given a hefty fine for assaulting Ousmane Dabo on the training ground. If this wasn’t enough, he also produced a horrendous kick-out on Sergio Aguero in 2012, getting himself banned for 12 games in the process.
2 Luis Suarez
For all of Suarez’s genius with the ball, he was involved in a number of controversies during his time at Anfield.
Suarez is one of the most talented and skillful footballers on the planet but he had an ugly side to him, which reared itself more than he would’ve liked. The Uruguayan managed to get an eight-match ban and a ten-match ban during his spell at Liverpool.
Though Suarez set the Premier League alight with his performances, his behavior left a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, whenever Suarez is discussed, his controversies occupy as much a place in the discussion as his sublime footballing prowess.
1 Mario Balotelli
The most controversial figure to have ever graced the Premier League, is none other than the enigmatic Mario Balotelli. Bought from Inter Milan, the Italian endured countless controversies during his stint at the Etihad.
The Italian had training ground bust-ups for breakfast and was involved in a fair few. Apart from the bust-ups, he was also guilty of throwing darts on an academy player.
However, the icing on the cake was him setting off fireworks in his house a few days before the Manchester Derby. With his place under scrutiny, he started the game and ended up scoring Manchester City’s first goal in a 6-1 drubbing. After scoring the goal, Balotelli lifted his shirt to display a message which said ‘Why Always Me’.