There have been hundreds of terrible fouls in football, and I’m going to pick my worst ones. Some tackles are accidental, others are done with complete malice. I’m going to keep it to a domestic level, so no tackles from Qatar or some random European country are going to be included. Obviously there are countless other horrible fouls that have occurred over the years, but the players included here didn’t even need to fight with the opposition players to make the list, some were just content to fight the fans or the referees.
Eric Cantona
That bicycle kick on the fan at Crystal Palace is still etched in everyone’s memory. The Frenchman obviously was auditioning for a place in WWE with this dropkick. A magnet for controversy, Cantona was banned for 8 months because of this.
Roy Keane on Alfe-Inge Haaland
Staying with Manchester United, Keane’s tackle in the Manchester derby was disgusting, and virtually ended Haaland’s career. Earned more controversy because Keane admitted it was intentional in his autobiography.
Paulo Di Canio
Di Canio’s shove on referee Paul Alcock is legendary and earned him an 11 game ban because of it. Funny though…
Joey Barton
Barton isn’t the nicest person to play against. This kick right in Dickson Etuhu’s “little Etuhu” wasn’t the nicest moment of fair play.
Steven Gerrard
This tackle on some random player is disgusting, Gerrard didn’t even try and get the ball.
The Youtube video below shows all of these fouls. Especially look out for the Maradona brawl and the 22-man brawl about half way through.
