Liverpool's 5 most controversial players of all time

It seems that the club has a strong affinity to the bad boysof the game. Be it personal behavioural issuesor the on-field antics,they arestirring up a controversy everywhere and every time.With Mario Balotelli joiningthe Anfield based club he seems to be replacing Luis Suarez as far as the controversies part isconcerned. He has had a fair share of media coveragefor his antics in the past whether it be for gate crashing an Inter Milan press conference inan AC Milan shirt or fighting with his team mates for taking a free kick inamatch duringhis stint withManchester City.Liverpool fans are sure to be left cringing onhis actions,but it seems that the fans have experienced such things in the past with club having attracted such players in the past.Here are the 5 most controversial players that have donned the famous red jersey of Merseyside.

#1 Luis Suarez

Luis Suarez is one of the best striker in the world right now scoring 31 goals in 33 games last season for Liverpool in the league. He went on win PFA Player of the Year Award and Football Association Writers Player of the Year Award.

Although, his name will always be remembered for his deeds off the ball.

The 2011-12 season was marked by an incident in which Suárez was found guilty by a three-man panel from the FA of racially abusing Patrice Evra during a game against Manchester United in October; he was given an eight-game suspension and a £40,000 fine.

In April 2013, during a Premier League game at Anfield against Chelsea. Suárez bit Branislav Ivanovi in the penalty box but the incident was not noticed by the officials and game went on.Later, he was charged with violent conduct by the FA and fined an undisclosed sum by his club and a 10 match ban.

For Uruguay's final group game against Italy in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup.Around at the 79th minute Suárez lunged at Chiellini and bit his shoulder (Chiellini showed bite marks), followed by Suárez falling and clutching his face. He went on to play the game due to refree not noticing the incident but FIFA Disciplinary Committee found him guilty and banned him from taking part in any football-related activivity for four months and fined CHF100,000 .

Earlier this year, he left for FC Barcelona for a record £75m fee.

#2 Craig Bellamy

Craig Bellamy has often been found on the periphery of a number of incidents during his time as a professional footballer.

He was cautioned in 2002 for assaulting a woman in a nightclub, charged of racially aggravated harassment in 2003 (but later acquitted), and disciplined by Rafa Benitez in 2007 for allegedly hitting then team mate John Arne Riise during a team training session in Portugal. This incident earned him the nickname "The Nutter with the Putter“.In the first match following the incident, away at Barcelona in a Champions League last-16 round first leg, Bellamy celebrated his equaliser by emulating a golf stroke.He was fined two weeks of wages for the incident.

Although Bellamy had never been convicted of assault, he was alleged to have been involved in several violent incidents including clashing with a pitch invader during a match against Manchester United in 2009.In January 2011 he was arrested and then bailed on an alleged assault claim, in which two men suffered facial injuries.

#3 Andy Caroll

Andy Carroll has caused controversy by possibly being the worst £35 million pound footballer that has ever played the sport.

Whilst Carroll has ability and is still young, the vast majority of Liverpool supporters felt he was overpriced by at least £20 million pounds when he signed in January 2011 from Newcastle United. Although, the striker’s off-field behaviour created more headlines with him assaulting his ex-girlfriend after getting drunk to which Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish responded by saying “Well he’s never bought me a drink. I’ve been with him at Boyzone concerts and he’s still never bought me a drink!”.

In December 2009, he was arrested in the aftermath of a nightclub fight in Newcastle, accused of smashing glass in a man's face. He was charged with assault and in October 2010 he pleaded guilty to common assault and was fined £1,000. He was also ordered to pay £2,500 compensation.

#4 El Hadji Diouf

The word controversy goes hand in hand with El Hadji Diouf. Even a simple search on google brings up the following menu.

Controversies:

In France

In England

• In Scotland

In 2003, Diouf was found guilty of spitting at Celtic fans during a UEFA cup match.

This was not Dioufs only spitting misdemeanor, as he was accused of spitting at West Ham fans in 2002, spitting at an 11-year-old Middlesbrough fan in 2004, and spitting in the face of Arjan de Zeeuw, also in 2004.

On 20 September 2009, Diouf was questioned by police after allegations that he had made a racial slur to a ball-boy during a match at Everton, calling him a ‘lazy white boy’. Diouf defended his actions by saying that the ball-boy had thrown the ball to him "like a bone to a dog" and that Everton fans were racially abusing and throwing bananas at him; police found no evidence of this.

#5 Robbie Fowler

Robbie Fowler was one of the greatest finishers in the English game during his prime years at Liverpool, but he caused a media storm after celebrating a goal against Everton by pretending to sniff the white lines of the penalty area in a reference to recent claims he had taken cocaine.

Then manager Gerard Houllier tried to pass the incident off as a Cameroonian grass eating celebration introduced to the player by teammate Rigobert Song.

Fowler was also part of a group of Liverpool players from the mid-1990s who were dubbed "The Spice Boys" by the press following a series of off-field controversies.The term was subsequently used in a derogatory manner, implying Fowler and colleagues such as Jamie Redknapp, Stan Collymore, David James and Steve McManaman were underachieving playboys.

The FA imposed a £32,000 fine and a six match ban for the ‘snorting the cocaine’ celebration and also for showing disrespect to Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux in front of his family while celebrating a goal by showing his back to the defender.