It must be a struggle to not get back at the person who just fouled you on the pitch. The urge to catch your opponent with a sly blow or trip him is a tantalising temptation that players battle with every time they’re wronged. And it’s not just the physicality of the sport that raises tension among players. Comments from opponents can also rub the wrong way and lead them to take the law into their hands.
Fortunately, there are rules in the game that deter such behaviour and referees and football governing bodies continue taking a strict view of altercations. Despite some pretty solid regulation in place, some players can’t help but take matters into their hands and mete out their own brand of justice.
Here’s a look at five times footballers got their revenge on the pitch:
#5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Tyrone Mings
We start with football’s most recent case of vengeance. The Premier League fixture between Manchester United and Bournemouth this past Saturday was an important one for Mourinho and his men with the opportunity to finally move out of 6th place. The game started off as a spirited affair that saw United take the lead but soon descended into chaos when the Cherries drew level.
Bournemouth captain Andrew Surman pushed Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the ground only to have his head trampled on by Tyrone Mings. Kevin Friend, the referee in charge saw the push but not Mings’ foul. The Swede, however, wasn’t about to let the matter go and elbowed Mings right in the face as they were cuing up for a set piece and the officials missed it again.
A pure case of revenge, Zlatan claimed Mings had simply jumped into his elbow and denied doing it on purpose while the Cherries defender claimed his infraction was also a mistake. Even though the match official failed to take action during the course of the game, the FA will be keen to hand out justice. The governing body has charged the former Inter forward with a three-match retrospective ban while Mings could face up to a six-game ban for his reckless action.
#4 Patrice Evra on Luis Suarez
For such a prolific footballer, you’d expect Luis Suarez to do all his proverbial talking with his feet. Yet the Uruguayan striker makes ample use of his mouth to vent his frustration during games. Whether it’s biting his opponents or hurling abuses, Suarez always finds a way of getting to defenders and his encounter with Patrice Evra was no different.
In a fixture between United and Liverpool in October 2011, the Frenchman and the forward were involved in a heated battle for the ball when they entered into a verbal argument during the game. While both insulted each other with plenty of gusto, Evra claimed Suarez had racially abused him.
The FA launched a two-month investigation into the matter at the end of which the current Barcelona star was handed an eight-game ban and a fine amounting to £40,000. In the reverse fixture that season when Suarez refused to shake hands with the left-back, Evra grabbed his hand only to be ignored followed by Rio Ferdinand rebuffing the forward's attempt to shake hands with him.
However, Evra got his revenge that night when United won 2-1 and he made the most of his celebrations in front of Stretford End in plain view of none other than Suarez himself. Liverpool fans criticised the defender for his unsporting behaviour but he hardly cared about the optics as he almost made an entire lap of the stadium.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo on Armenian fans
Imagine travelling to a different country only to be acrimoniously greeted with chants of your biggest rival’s name. Can’t feel good, right? Well, that’s exactly what happened to Cristiano Ronaldo as he travelled with the national squad for a Euro qualifier against Armenia in June 2015.
As the Portuguese forward got off the team bus in the city of Yerevan, he was greeted by a crowd of fans and also a group of people who heckled him with chants of ‘Messi, Messi’. While their behaviour did not seem to faze the Real Madrid star at all, calmly ignoring their less-than-flattering behaviour, he made sure he exacted his revenge during the game and ensured they got the message.
Ronaldo scored a hat-trick that night and cupped his ear in celebration every time he scored in defiance of their earlier chants to unnerve him. There could have been no better way for the Ballon d’Or winner to respond to the slight than his excellent performance that night.
#2 Didier Zokora on Emre Belozoglu
In a fixture between Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor back in 2012, Didier Zokora accused Emre Belozoglu of racially abusing him. Even though the former Newcastle player admitted to the wrongdoing, he denied claims of a racial context to his insult. In spite of Zokora’s insistence, the specific charge couldn’t be proved and Emre was charged with just a two-game ban when it should have been at least six to eight games.
When the two sides met again the following season, the Ivorian midfielder took matters into his hands as a means of restitution. It seemed like he had proven his point when he refused to shake the playmaker's hand but his real wrath unfolded later during the course of the match.
The former Tottenham player was running full tilt towards Emre as he progressed with the ball through midfield. Zokora timed his revenge to apparent perfection as he kicked the Turkish midfielder in his crown jewels with “the full force of his right boot”. The midfielder crumpled to the ground immediately and Zokora escaped with just a booking.
#1 Roy Keane on Alf-Inge Haaland
Roy Keane served his vengeance the recommended way – cold when he took down Alf-Inge Haaland during the Manchester derby in 2001. It had all started four years earlier when Haaland, playing for Leeds at the time, stood over an injured Keane telling him not to playact after he attempted to foul the Norwegian. The midfielder did not take kindly to his behaviour as the injury would eventually take him out for the rest of the season.
Cut to April 2001 and Keane delivered his own brand of justice when he aimed a powerful kick at Haaland which saw him writhing on the ground in pain as he screamed abuses at the City player. Keane was sent off immediately earning himself a three-match suspension and a £5,000 fine but that wasn’t meant to be the end.
In his autobiography which came out in 2002, Keane revealed,“I'd waited long enough. I f****** hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you c***. And don't ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries.”
His account of the premeditated attack forced the FA’s hand who slapped him with a £150,000 fine and a five-match ban. In a second autobiography which came out 12 years later, he added, “There are things I regret in my life and he's not one of them”, referring to his foul on the man he virtually retired.
