Top 10 Deserving Player Bans in the Game

#10. Joey Barton – 12 matches

It is difficult to forget the match which ended in the world famous goal by Sergio Agüero for City.
It helped them secure a victory of the title on the day of finals.


This is not the only reason which made the match unforgettable.
The other cause of the memory was the unfortunate manner in which Joey Barton entirely lost his cool.
Beginning with some grappling with Carlos Tevez, a knee drive followed into Aguero.
He only made sure that he invited more trouble, and gave a headbutt to Vincent Kompany when he was sent off.
It was a crazy behavior for sure.Equally amusing is the squaring up with Mario Balotelli.

#9. Paolo Di Canio – 11 matches

Arsenal vs Sheffield Wednesday went entirely out of hands.
Patrick Vieira shoved off a footballer to the ground and it gave a complete free to everybody.
Paulo Di Canio, who is always reputed as very eccentric, was picked by the referee and sent off.
God knows what dawned upon him and he decided to push down the referee to the ground forcefully.
He was, of course, assigned a ban of 11 matches along with a fine of $10,000.
He has been always loved by the yellow journalists for being engaged in one controversy or the other.

#8. Luis Suarez – 10 matches

Suarez has two bans in his kitty for different incidents.
The Liverpool star scored the headlines worldwide during FIFA World Cup 2014 when he bit the shoulder of Giorgio Chiellini, while Suarez was featuring as a striker for his team of Uruguay.
The offense is of course despicable and an entirely inexcusable action.
This assault causes him a ban.
And mind it, this was not the single incident of biting by Suarez.
He has done this horrendous act before too.He had also bit Branislav Ivanovic, the defender of Chelsea football club.

#7. Rio Ferdinand – 8 months

The athletes worldwide should know that they must and must show up for the doping tests.
The authorities suspect those players the most who miss these tests that they must be hiding something with the excuse of being in spotlight.
Ferdinand, amusingly, provided a sample that was clean.
But, that was two days after the test.
That was nothing more than too late.
He was handed over a ban of eight months and a fine of $50,000, which Manchester United termed as “particularly savage”.
The Red Devils tried to appeal against the given verdict, which landed them in more trouble and Ferdinand was handed over an increase of four months ban. But later, the original decision was upheld.

#6. Vinnie Jones – 6 months

Vinnie Jones would have never imagined that a good old video would cause so much damage to him.
Soccer’s Hard Men was the film of 1992 in which he was featured and he found himself banned for six months along with a fine of $20,000.
He also got suspended by the Football Association.
Just like Suarez, he had been a repeat offender in his matches.
He had been sent off as many as twelve times.
He was also caught once grabbing Paul Gascoigne’s (Newcastle United) nether regions.
This is a complete no-no in the male athletes of any sport.
These are the reasons good enough to land the footballer in hot water. Amusingly, he cashed on his image of “hard man” and is now pursuing his acting career.

#5. Eric Cantona – 9 months

The English Football Association handed out the biggest ever ban to Eric Cantona for dashing a kung fu kick to a fan in the stands.
He also punched him in face forgetting that he is no ordinary man fighting in the streets.
Had he been a common man doing this assault, he would have received a jail term.
Amusingly, Cantona considers this as the greatest moment of his career.
The incident took place in 1995.
He claimed that the fan behaved in a racist manner to him throughout the match.
However, it is quite understandable from Cantona’s point of view that the fan was no “innocent” while he hurled racist remarks. Regardless of anything, the “King Eric” is still regarded as the greatest player of Manchester United.

#4. Kolo Toure – 6 months

It was a strong message, every athlete of the world got, after Toure was banned for 6 months following drug test- the players must know whatever goes into their body.
The Liverpool defender gave the excuse that he had taken the diet pills of his wife, from which the illegal element came.
That is why he was popped after the test took place.
It is not important that he was lying or not. The crucial thing for the players is known in detail what is legal to consume and what is not and hence follow the rules.

#3. Mark Bosnich – 9 months

Failing on a cocaine test is not a new things for athletes the world over.
While some players would pledge to make a comeback better than ever before, some others will never stop making excuses.
Bosnich took the latter option when he failed the doping test in 2002 for cocaine.
He claimed that his drink had been altered without his knowledge.
He was banned for nine months for the failed drug test.
But, of course, the truth came out later.
He admitted to having been addicted to a cocaine habit at $5000 every week! He took retirement from the professional football and returned to play in 2008 via A-League.

#2. Diego Maradona – 15 months

The living legend of Argentina, Diego Maradona, was the man who had to struggle with his addiction for cocaine for many years.

He failed the drug test in 1991, which resulted in a ban on the player for 15 months.

The happy part of the story is that he successfully kicked his drinking habits and cocaine consumption with professional help.

But, the sad part is that he took the treatment only after his international football career was ended.

1994 FIFA World Cup saw him for the last time on the grounds.

Then, 33-year old captain was sent off early.

Maradona was voted as the FIFA Player of the 20th century.

#1. Adrian Mutu – 7 months

Mutu has been banned from the sport more than just once.
The striker was handed over a ban for six months when he failed a drug test in 2010.
He had also failed a drug test in 2004 for cocaine.
Chelsea club, which is known for a zero-tolerance policy regarding the consumption of drugs, grabbed Mutu for “gross misconduct”.
Chelsea also fought with the player in the court seeking compensation from him.
But, this was not enough.
The Football Association also banned Mutu for seven months and fined him for $20,000. The player has suffered a lot for his actions off field as well as on field.