7 sports stars you didn't know had criminal records

Players of FC Barcelona are not always in the news for their heroics on field, and Javier Mascherano is the latest in line to be in the limelight for the wrong reasons. Reports emerging out of Spain confirmed that Mascherano had confessed to avoiding taxes amounting to nearly €1.5 million, making him the latest in a list of people that includes Lionel Messi and Neymar. Back home, leggie Amit Mishra was arrested and thereafter released on charges of assaulting a woman, which has led to a lot of speculation in the media regarding his place in the Indian team ahead of the test series against South Africa.While pundits and fans usually dissect every step of these cases, here is a list of 7 sports stars who you didn’t know were involved in crimes!

#1 Makhaya Ntini

Makhaya Ntini is one of South Africa’s best fast bowlers and was notably the first black player to ever represent the country. He has almost 400 Test wickets to his name and 266 wickets in ODIs, and has had an illustrious career including a good spell with Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

However, most people do not know that his career was nearly derailed when he was convicted of raping his neighbour in a stadium toilet in East London in 1999. Consequently, he was sentenced to 6 years in jail and was dropped from the World Cup squad.

However, on appealing the decision, he was acquitted of all charges and spent 20 months in the wilderness before being recalled to the national team, where he finally retired in 2011.

#2 Boris Becker

Boris Becker is a former world number one tennis player, whose trophy-laden career includes 43 titles and 6 grand slams. He is most famous for being the youngest player to win the Wimbledon at the age of 17, and is currently the coach of Serbian ace and world number one Novak Djokovic.

However, the German hotshot fell foul of the courts in the year 2002, when he had been sentenced to two years' probation by a Munich court for failing to pay millions of Euros in German taxes.

Describing it as ‘his most important victory‘, the tennis star only narrowly avoided a three-and-a-half year jail sentence.

#3 Adrian Sutil

Adrian Sutil is well-known among Indian F1 enthusiasts for being a driver with the constructor Force India from 2008-2011 and 2013. He had helped the fledgling franchise settle down after having continued over from old employers Spyker.

Despite a crash-ridden stint with the team, the German was able to secure decent finishes for Force India, and ensure the transition from being the new kids to a part of the chasing pack of the top dogs like McLaren-Mercedes, RedBull and Ferrari.

On the evening following the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix, Sutil was involved in an incident with Genii Capital CEO and owner of the Lotus F1 team Eric Lux in a nightclub in Shanghai. Sutil struck Lux with a champagne glass, causing a wound in his neck which required 24 stitches. Sutil apologised for the incident, which he described as "unintentional."

Lux's lawyers filed a criminal complaint for physical assault and grievous bodily harm against Suti. He was eventually dropped by his employers and remained without a seat in F1 in 2012.

Sutil was convicted of the charge on 31 January 2012, and received an 18-month suspended prison sentence, along with a €200,000 fine.

#4 Floyd Mayweather Sr.

Floyd Mayweather Sr. was an American welterweight boxer in the 80’s, and was renowned for his defensive ability and overall knowledge of boxing strategy. He is the father and trainer of five-division boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., the world’s richest athlete, and is credited for teaching his son the defensive skills that made him a champion.

Unknown to many of Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr.’s fans, his father served a five-year term for drug trafficking when his son’s career was still in its nascent stages. Mayweather Sr., and several others were convicted in 1993 of smuggling cocaine in detergent boxes from 1987-92.

This incident is said to have spurred his son on at a time when he was challenging for a berth in the Olympics.

#5 Sonny Liston

Sonny Liston was an American boxer who became world heavyweight champion in 1962 and was widely regarded as unbeatable till that iconic match against Muhammad Ali, where he surrendered his title in spectacular fashion.

However, he was widely suspected of having underworld links and being involved in organized crime. He served a two-year prison sentence in 1950, which is where he got introduced to boxing and began an amazing rise to the top, only to see his invincible aura fall apart against Ali.

His links to the underworld are said to be a factor behind his untimely death in 1970.

#6 Guus Hiddink

The well-travelled coach was the mastermind behind South Korea’s dream run to the semi-finals in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The Dutchman had brief spells with Chelsea and cash-rich Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala and was most recently criticized for the Netherlands’ unexpected capitulation in the Euro 2016 Qualifiers, where he managed poor results before quitting in June 2015.

However, it was during his stint as the Russian team national coach where he made the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Hiddink was given a six-month suspended sentence for tax evasion and was to pay a €45,000 fine and €1.4 million that he evaded. He narrowly avoided a jail sentence for his previous good conduct.

#7 Patrick Kluivert

Former Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert had an illustrious career spanning the likes of Ajax, Milan and FC Barcelona. He was a part of the famous golden generation of Ajax and scored the winning goal in the 1995 Champions League final when he was aged 18.

The highest scorer for the Dutch national team till Robin van Persie surpassed him, Kluivert was named in the FIFA 100, which is a list of 125 best players by Pele in the year 2004.

Despite possessing such a stellar career, Kluivert has had his fair share of dark moments.

During his youth, he was involved in a number of off-field issues including a charge of rape that was ultimately dropped against him. He was also convicted for causing death by dangerous driving in 1996 and was sentenced to do 240 hours of community service as a punishment for his actions.

However, Kluivert ultimately brushed theses issues aside and headed off to Barcelona in a deadline move which saw him partner Brazilian great Rivaldo and lead Barcelona to many titles in the next six years.