Top 8 controversial T-Shirt Messages in Football

Recently, Robin van Persie‘s “RIP Tchuna” message went viral on the Internet. So, with that in mind, here is a list of 8 controversial T-shirt messages that were revealed by Football stars.

There are touching messages like the ones that were revealed in support of Fabrice Muamba and there are ones that are quite emotional like Billy Sharp’s ‘That’s for you Son’ message three days after the death of his son. But the ones below are either crazy, unnecessary, arrogant or just unexplainable!

# 8 – Ian Wright – 179 Just done it

Arsenal‘s Ian Wright was at 177 goals. Just one less than Cliff Bastin’s club record. He wanted to break the record as soon as possible.

And so, when he scored the goal against Bolton in 1997, he revealed a T-shirt which read “179 Just Done it” but in fact, it was only his 178th goal. But before the news could create any controversy, he scored two more goals to claim a hat-trick.

His record, however, was broken in less than 8 years by Thierry Henry.

# 7 – Thierry Henry – Bang goes the 0 – 0 draw!

No Arsenal player had scored against Liverpool for almost 3 years! Ian Wright was the last man to do it.

It was a nasty affair when Arsenal took on Liverpool in 2000, as three players – two from Liverpool and one from Arsenal – were sent off. But, right at the death, Henry made sure of the victory by scoring and went on to reveal the message “Bang goes the 0-0 draw”, pointing out the fact they had finally scored against Liverpool.

# 6 – Dimitar Berbatov – Keep calm and pass me the ball

This one is fairly recent. On December 26, 2012, Fulham’s Dimitar Berbatov opened the scoring for his team against Southampton and as soon as he did, he displayed the famed message – “Keep calm and pass me the ball”.

Keep calm and pass HIM the ball!

The match ended 1 – 1 and Berbatov couldn’t score again despite his teammates passing him the ball.

# 5 – James Beattie – Obvious!

In 2003, James Beattie was playing for Southampton and he was one of their leading players. Beattie wanted an England call up and the Three Lions were having problems in their attacking department.

Obvious – Overconfident?

So, Beattie thought that he was the obvious choice and went on to display the message “Obvious” after scoring a goal against Middlesbrough. The then England Manager Sven Goran Eriksson called up Beattie but he didn’t deliver on what he promised. Beattie till date has 5 England appearances and no goals to his name.

# 4 – Paul Tait – Sh*t on the Villa

The rivalry between Birmingham City and Aston Villa is well known. Paul Tait’s message didn’t help the rivalry much. After scoring in the 1995 Auto Windscreens Shield final against Carlisle United, Tait revealed a t-shirt which read “Birmingham City sh*t on the Villa” with a very graphic image.

Sh*t on the Villa

He was fined for the message but I doubt that he cared.

# 3 – Lee Trundle – A ‘not-so-subtle’ image

Swansea beat Carlisle in the finals of the 2006 Football League Trophy and Lee Trundle, often called as The Showboat, revealed his T-shirt which had a guy wearing a Swansea T-shirt pissing on a Cardiff T-shirt.

He was arrested and later released for his actions.

# 2 – Mario Balotelli – Why Always Me?

Mario Balotelli, a day before this incident, lit fireworks in his bathroom. The Italian, who was already made a target by the British media, did not escape this one.

Indeed, why always him?

So, after scoring a calm goal in probably the most important Manchester Derby of all time, he revealed a message directed at the media – Why Always Me?

He went on to score another goal as Manchester City demolished Manchester United 6 -1.

# 1 – Marco Materazzi – Do you want this too?

Marco Materazzi was part of the illustrious 2010 Inter Milan team which won the treble. Inter were winning the Champions League finals when Materazzi came on as a substitute in the 92nd minute. After winning the title, he revealed his T shirt which showed a graphic image of him holding the trophy with the words “Do you want this too”, directed at their Italian rivals Juventus.

Do you want this too?

In 2005/06 season, following the Calciopoli scandal, Juventus wanted Inter Milan to be stripped off their league title. After the verdict was announced, the title was awarded to Juventus.