My curious self always wondered whether it’s normal for a football player to have the color red as their favorite. If I was a football player, I would probably be too careful on the field to avoid any red cards from the referee. Red cards are only given if your referee thinks you’ve surpassed all levels of offenses. Despite this, there are many occurrences that we all witnessed that probably deserved 2 red cards instead of one.
No, I am not pitching new ideas to football rules. Those fouls were actually terrible. Scroll to become the judge and jury for yourself!
Axel Witsel
The world witnessed the way Witsel got to grips with Marcin Wasilewski. With all the power bestowed on him, Witsel deliberately stamped on Marcin’s leg. With that level of impact, you can clearly understand that Marcin’s ankle is in a sorry state. He suffered from a completely broken leg for a long time and the recovery phase was terribly painful I bet.
It’s understandable that the amount of stress each player has to go through might make them lose their cool sometimes, but Witsel was only inches from ending a player’s entire career. He has a streak of these sorts of horror attacks and this was not the first one. The frustrated authority initially banned him for 3 months from t Belgian football which was later reduced to 8 games. If you hit “worst fouls” in a search engine, the images will be filled with Witsel’s images. The worst part is, he doesn’t even pretend to make it look accidental.
Michael Brown
Brown’s terrible defense tactics were quite publicized during the Premier League with Fulham. He beat all odds when he decided to pounce like a cat on Sean Davis. He literally swooned over Davis with all his might. It was clear misconduct because he acted after the ball was passed over. This means, he probably didn’t even want to conceal his misdeeds. Even if you claim to be his number one fan, there’s no denying this fact. The then referee, Chris Foyd was hence prompt in blowing the whistle, flashing the well-deserved red card. Even though Davis was unharmed, Brown probably deserved an additional red card.
Commins Menapi
Football players are supposed to be drawn towards the ball like a magnet. In this particular match, Menapi decided to do the exact opposite. His magnet was Ricki Van Steeden instead. Surpassing the ball on the field, he directly aimed towards Steeden, showing off an exquisite tackle for no reason, leaving Steeden with a broken leg. No matter how ruthless the competition gets, one might never stoop so low that might hurt a football player’s career. Menapi’s inexcusable offense inevitably cost him a red card a 6-match ban. Any rational person would argue that he deserved some more!
Pepe
Common bad defenses are generally aimed at hurting one’s opponent that can at most leave them with an injured or a terribly broken limb. Beating all norms, the Portuguese defender literally went for Francisco Casquero’s life. Pepe used his stud as a weapon to prod into Casquero’s back. The show did not end there. As he jabbed his stud, Casquero’s involuntarily winced in pain that might not have satisfied Pepe or his intentions. He continued to stamp on Casquero’s arm followed by his leg.
The ones watching the match would probably think he was possessed with some stubborn evil spirit. Despite several whistles, unavoidable red card, and after asking him to be taken away, Pepe continued with his unstoppable taunting, kicking, and punching. Everyone pondered whether he was completely out of his senses as he literally had to be “carried off” the field with the help of the security. He received a ban from 10 matches as additional punishment, but he definitely deserved infinite red cards. Whether his career was lost on that day or not, all his respect definitely was.
Kevin Nolan
Staying rational and keeping your cool on the football field might be more difficult than winning a match sometimes. You’re watching a completely normal match with Victor Anichebe advancing towards Nolan to take over the football. But suddenly you become the spectator to one of the worst fouls that’ll go down in history because Nolan decided to purposely ambush Anichebe.
I don’t know where Nolan gathered such frenzy of rage within seconds as he literally overtook Anichebe on top, stamped on his ankle with his left leg, and crunched his knee with his other leg. I don’t think any rowdy gangster would have pulled such a stunt as millions of spectators watched. The brutal attack made Anichebe injured for 11 long months. Though it did not end his career, he did not sit idle and threw 2 major lawsuits at Nolan for his prolonged sufferings and 2 major surgeries. But Nolan deserves a lifetime ban and multiple red cards.
Roy Keane
Keane lost all his respect when he ended the career of Alf Inge Haaland. Throughout the entire Premier League, Keane was hell-bent on the mission to break Haaland’s leg and in the end, he was unfortunately successful.
He was so vindictive that he was completely blinded with fury. Not a shred of regret was found on his face when he was asked to leave immediately after a red card flash. It was Haaland’s last match as a football player and a very disappointing day for his fans. This match is still talked about today and will eventually go down as one of the worst fouls in Premier League history.
Final Thoughts
No matter how difficult a match gets, football players that are admired by millions of people should maintain some basic ethics. The embarrassment on the ground has spillover effects even after the match is over. No number of red cards can reverse the dreadful occurrences during hostile matches!
