FX.co ★ Unsportsmanlike conduct: athletes who are remembered for their scandalous antics

Mike Tyson

Of course, Mike Tyson was not the first and far from the last boxer who used not only his fists, but also his teeth during the fight. But it was his bite that became the most scandalous and was remembered for many years.The «victim» of Mike Tyson was the athlete Evander Holyfield, who, in fairness, used dirty tricks against his opponent that day. Perhaps this was the reason that Mike Tyson could not contain his anger and literally bit off a piece of his opponent's ear. For his unsportsmanlike conduct in the ring, the boxer was fined $3 million and was temporarily disqualified.

Luis Suarez

Representatives of other sports also like to bite. For example, the Uruguayan footballer Luis Suarez, who, among other things, turned out to be a «notorious recidivist». The press has repeatedly reported on the unsportsmanlike conduct of Luis Suarez. At particularly critical moments, one of the strongest strikers in the world lost control of himself and rushed at his opponents with his teeth. Later, the athlete nevertheless realized his problem and decided to seek professional psychological help.

Pepe Ferreira

The Brazilian and Portuguese footballer also earned a bad reputation for his unsportsmanlike conduct. The biggest scandal with his participation occurred in 2009 during a match between 2 Spanish clubs: Real Madrid, for which Pepe played, and Getafe. The defender of the Madrid team pushed the player Javier Casquero, and then began to kick the fallen opponent. After this incident, Pepe was suspended for 10 matches. However, this did not serve as a lesson for him. The football player now and then starts fights on the field.

Floyd Mayweather

The incident between boxers Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield is called the most scandalous in the last century, and the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz caused the greatest resonance in our days. The fight took place in September 2011. He was remembered for the dirty victory of Floyd Mayweather, because he knocked out his virtually defenseless opponent. A crushing blow to the jaw of Victor Ortiz came just at the moment when he lowered his arms.

Eden Hazard

Athletes do not always take out their anger on their opponents. Take, for example, the case that occurred in early 2013 during the semi-finals of the English League Cup. Swansea City and Chelsea competed for the final. The anti-hero that day was London striker Eden Hazard. A few minutes before the end of the match, he pushed a boy who was serving balls and hit him. The football player explained his misconduct by the fact that the ball-boy deliberately stalled for time, which pissed him off.

Zinedine Zidane

Interestingly, sometimes the causes of unsportsmanlike conduct of athletes are revealed many years later. Zinedine Zidane, captain of the French national team, «distinguished himself» at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. During the final game, he head-butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the chest. Only in 2020 did the Italian football player lift the veil of secrecy and explain what caused Zizou's anger. As it turned out, there was a verbal skirmish between them. Marco Materazzi provoked a conflict that cost the Frenchman his career.

Diego Simeone

Another high-profile scandal at the World Cup occurred in 1998. Argentine player Diego Simeone pushed his opponent - the «golden boy of the English team» David Beckham. This seriously angered him and in retaliation he tripped the Argentinean. But Diego Simeone was not taken aback and began to feign a serious injury. And since the referee missed the start of the incident, he had no choice but to send David Beckham off the field.

Tonya Harding

Don't think that unsportsmanlike conduct is typical only for male athletes. The most famous scandal involving a female athlete occurred in early 1994. American figure skating star Tonya Harding organized an assassination attempt on her rival Nancy Kerrigan. Both girls were in contention for a place on the US Olympic team. To eliminate her rival, Tonya Harding asked her friend to break Nancy Kerrigan's leg. However, he could not bring the plan to the end (he only hit the skater on her knee with a bludgeon). Nevertheless, the name of the instigator of the crime soon became known to everyone.