Players Who Faced the Longest Bans in Football History

There are heroes on one side and villains on the other, who often cause frustration and anger. It is also a simplified way of dividing the world, even the football world. Throughout the history of world football, there were quite a few players who earned (only) ridicule for their stunts on and off the pitch. More often than not, they didn't keep their nerve or did something stupid that cost them dearly. They are sometimes fined, sometimes banned from playing, which not only hurts the offenders themselves, but also their employers.

Longest SUSPENSIONS in Football History

One thing to note here is that these bans imposed on footballers were caused by many different things, from insulting players and officials to kicking spectators in the case of Eric Cantona! In the following, you will find some of the top players who have received the longest bans in football history. Two of them even appear twice in this list. Stay tuned.

Pepe – 10 Match Ban

Kicking Casquero, a punch to Albín and repeatedly insulting the referee. Pepe lost his temper in a match against

in 2009. The referee Delgado Ferreiro wrote: "In the 86th minute, Pepe was sent off for pushing an opponent, Casquero, from behind, preventing an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.

On the ground and with play stopped, the home player then kicked the player who had been fouled and then punched an opponent, Albín, in the face. Pepe, when leaving the field of play, turned to the fourth official with the following phrase: "you are all sons of bitches". The committee was not afraid and punished the Portuguese centre-back with a 10-match ban, which was the biggest punishment ever handed down to a Real Madrid player.

Luis Suárez - 4 months

The greatest villain of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez, who bit Italy's Chiellini in the shoulder. This was not the first time he had behaved like a hungry man-eater.

On previous occasions, he had also been fined for biting opposing players, but in 2014 he was handed exemplary punishment. FIFA officials suspended him from all football-related activities for four months. He was lucky in the end, as initially, there was even talk of a two-year ban.

Joao Pinto – 4 Months

The Portugal international, who received a red card in the match between Portugal and

at the 2002 World Cup (14 June), punched Ángel Sánchez, the Argentinian referee of the match. According to the referee, the player had punched him in the ribs. He was given a six-month ban by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, of which two months were finally excluded.

The reason for the reduced punishment was the good behaviour Pinto had displayed for "years at national and international level". In 1998, Pinto was previously suspended for three months by the Portuguese Liga Disciplinary Committee for attacking a fireman during a match between his team,

, and Rio Ave on 20 September 1997.

David Navarro - 6 months

There was a scuffle on the pitch during the 2007 Champions League match between

and Inter Milan, which involved central defender David Navarro, who was spending the match on the bench as a substitute. Everything started with a brawl between Burdisso and Marchena, ending in a pitched battle. Then Navarro, who was on the bench, came on to take the law into his own hands and punched the Inter player. Navarro ran onto the pitch, broke the nose of Argentine defender Nicolás Burdiss in a challenge and then chased him into the dressing room.

At the same time, Cruz and Córdoba, the Argentine's teammates, tried to hit the player back and followed him across the pitch to hit him. And then Navarro broke Burdisso's nose. UEFA punished him harshly: a seven-month ban from all competitions and 6,000 euros. Later, the Appeals Committee reduced the penalty to half a year.

However, FIFA stepped up the sentence and banned the player from all international competitions, including national team friendlies, for the same length of time. Stay tuned for more of the banned football players in our list of players who faced the longest bans in football history.

Kolo Touré - 6 months

The first player belonging to the list of football players banned for drugs is the Ivorian striker Kolo Toure. As soon as an athlete reaches a certain age, coaches and managers impress one crucial thing on them: 'You must always know what you're doing for your player: You must always know what you are feeding your body. It only takes one carelessness or indiscipline, and, with a bit of bad luck, another offender falls into the nets of the anti-doping officials.

Striker Kolo Touré only benefited from the aforementioned rule in 2011, at the age of 30. During a check, traces of banned "specific substances" were found in his blood. The Ivory Coast representative then defended himself with the stupid claim that he had swallowed his wife's diet pills. However, it would have been even stupider if he had told the truth. Either way, it cost him six months out of football.

Adrian Mutu - 6 months

Another player in the list of football players banned for drugs is Adrian Mutu. The Romanian striker Adrian Mutu was busted by anti-doping officials in the winter of 2010. This happened during his spell with Fiorentina in Italy.

He tested positive after a cup match against

Roma, where he scored two goals and helped to win 3-2. Since it was not his first offence of this kind, he was threatened with a ban of up to one year, which was ultimately cut to nine months and which was later reduced to six months. Stay tuned for more of the banned football players in our list of players who faced the longest bans in football history.

Vinnie Jones - 6 months

Not an exceptional player, Vinnie Jones succeeded in playing football at the highest level on the island for a long time. An orthodox follower of a hard style, he was not at all particular about taking opponents on. His approach had the flavour of brutality.

You can find a video of his incredible stunts, which had nothing to do with football, on YouTube, just type the name Vinnie Jones and the word PSYCHO into the search engine. Despite not being one of the smartest players (to put it euphemistically), he made a name for himself as a tough (or dumb) guy in the movies after his football career ended.

But before that, he had his big break with a video called Soccer's Hard Men, which was all about bad footballers. It featured Jones glorifying violence on the pitch in 1992, which displeased the English Football Association. He was banned for six months and fined £20,000.

Adrian Mutu - 7 months

The promising career of Romanian star Adrian Mutu came to a crashing halt in the autumn of 2004. One positive doping test for cocaine was all it took. This and another incident several years later, which we already mentioned, puts Adrian Mutu among a few footballers who have a place in the list of football players banned for drugs more than once.

This was followed by a very harsh punishment - seven months without football and a fine of 20,000 pounds from the English Football Association. In addition, he was immediately dismissed by Chelsea, and the club demanded compensation of 17 million pounds from him. With both sides taking the dispute to various arbitration tribunals and civil courts, the case dragged on for years. Stay tuned for more of the banned football players in our list of players who faced the longest bans in football history.

Rio Ferdinand - 8 months

If someone plays games with anti-doping officials, they have to face the consequences. English national defender Rio Ferdinand found this out in 2003. He refused to submit to random testing in September, and in December, he was handed the sentence for his unwise behaviour: an eight-month ban from football and a £50,000 fine. This meant, among other things, that Ferdinand lost his place at the European Championships in Portugal.

The England team manager Sven-Göran Eriksson felt sorry for Rio Ferdinand but "respected" the decision of the disciplinary committee. The Swedish player described the fact that he will miss the European Championship as a "hard blow for Rio". The at the time 25-year-old's absence, however, was an equally hard blow for Eriksson's plans, who had lost an important building block in his defensive formation.

Mark Bosnich - 9 months

Starring Coke - this is the story of Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich. He would spend up to five thousand dollars on the white powder in a week and managed to load up on a good ten grams a day. But it was only a matter of time before anti-doping officials busted him. This happened in 2002 and what followed was his sacking by Chelsea and a nine-month "break" from football.

The famous Australian goalkeeper, who played for

, Aston Villa and Chelsea, suffered a devastating relationship with wild model Sophie Anderton in the past, leading to his cocaine scandal. In fact, it was "Sophie's Choice" when the totally in love Bosnich chose between her and football, which he started to neglect because of his wife.

Bosnich chose Sophie, of whom her previous boyfriend Matt Graham openly stated, "She was simply hell. The sex was absolutely amazing, the best I've ever had. But other than that, I was completely emotionally drained by the relationship." The goalie could probably say the same thing.

When he headed out to a nightclub after one of his fierce arguments with his dazzlingly beautiful lover, his story is that "coke" was mixed into his drink. "I never took it deliberately," the unfortunate man assured. The incident happened in 2002, and the heartbroken Bosnich was then admitted to a psychiatric clinic where he was treated for deep depression.

Outside the walls of the hospital, he had to absorb both the collapse of his relationship and the fact that his career was in ruins. Nothing followed but his sacking from Chelsea and an inexorable fall. Bosnich was only in his early thirties when the affair erased him from top-flight football.

Eric Cantona - 9 months

French striker Eric Cantona was one of the biggest stars in European soccer during the 1990s, and his fiery temper earned him as many admirers as detractors. His name then resonated throughout the cultural sphere in France, on television, in film and in the theatre. The gem of Manchester United brought new life to the Old Trafford fans after his 1992 transfer which led to two consecutive English league titles.

What interests us in this list, however, are the events of 25 January 1995. While visiting

, Cantona was angered by the racist slurs directed at him by Matthew Simmons, a supporter near the ground. Cantona then attacked Simmons with a kick to the chest, a move that caused a huge stir at the time as the 'Cantona affair'.

The footballer never apologised for his action, and he was forced to pay a heavy price. He received a nine-month suspension from FIFA and the English FA and was sentenced to two weeks in prison initially. This was later converted into 120 hours of community service, but the suspension on the pitch was upheld. Nevertheless, Cantona made a successful return the following season and continued his dominance of the English league, claiming titles until 1997 with the Red Devils.

Diego Maradona - 15 months

In the opinion of many fans and experts, Diego Maradona was the greatest footballer of all time. The fine Argentinean became a legend, but besides his extraordinary talent, he also displayed his darker side throughout his career. He was given a 15-month ban from football in 1991 because of his cocaine addiction.

There was a relatively happy ending to his story. Maradona decided to seek treatment and succeeded in freeing himself from the drug's grip. What a pity it was only after the disgraceful end of his football career. Stay tuned for more of the banned football players in our list of players who faced the longest bans in football history.

Diego Maradona - 15 months

Diego Maradona took a 15-month sabbatical from football not once but twice, which makes him the record holder in modern times. He played only two games at the

in 1994 and was subsequently sent home because the anti-doping commissioners discovered substances containing ephedrine in his blood. FIFA gentlemen were not well-disposed towards the famous Argentine and suspended him from football for one year and three months.

Joey Barton - 18 months

How would you react to a man who spent more than two months in jail for beating up a man in the street one night with his friends? While midfielder Joey Barton is no longer the bad man of the English Premier League, his nickname Magor has endured to this day.

While still playing for

, he almost punched his teammate Ousmane Dabo in training, and the latter ended up in hospital after the attack. At a Christmas party, he came close to poking out the eye of one of the attendees with a cigarette.

Supporters of all teams in England couldn't stand him because he often would provoke the opposing team and then see a red card after an inappropriate reaction, while Barton would only snigger. He is still referred to by journalists as the biggest "pig" in the history of the Premier League.

He regularly bet on football matches between 2006 and 2016, something that is forbidden for professional footballers. He clinched 1,260 bets during this period, including matches in which he himself took part. Having been charged with criminal activity, he was fined £30,000 and given an 18-month ban from any football activity, which ended his career.

David Bystron - 2 years

The Czech footballer from Pilsen was banned from all football matches for two years by the UEFA Disciplinary Committee in 2012, which puts him in the top places of the longest SUSPENSIONS in the football history list. This was due to a positive test after one of the Champions League matches.

Until today, it is not entirely clear what substance was found circulating in his blood. Cocaine or ecstasy have been speculated most often, but Bystroň has stubbornly denied that he took anything on purpose. He is said not to have paid attention to what he drank in the discotheque.

His punishment expired in 2014, but a severe injury prevented him from returning to the pitch. He then tried to resume his blown career in the second division Olomouc, which he had helped to return to the first division, but in one of the pre-season games, he got seriously injured again, and the first division season was over for him before it even started. He had been playing in the lower Swiss leagues since the summer of 2016. He committed suicide by hanging in the foothills of the Alps in 2017. He was 34 years old.

Juanito - 2 years

Juanito, a Real Madrid player, was incapable of controlling his impulses in two matches, actions for which he was severely punished. The first was in 1978 in the European Cup. In the match between Grasshoppers and Real Madrid, the player assaulted referee Prokop, from the German Democratic Republic, as well as one of his linesmen at the end of the match.

UEFA's sanction was a two-year ban from competitions held by Europe's top football body. Stay tuned for more players in the list of longest SUSPENSIONS in football history.

Juanito - 5 years

However, there was another harsher punishment for Juanito. This was the end of his

career and the last continental match he played in. It came in 1987, in the European Cup semi-finals against

. Matthäus' tackle on Chendo turned out to be 'tragic'. Unable to contain himself, Juanito went over to the German player, who was on the ground and stepped on his head. Juanito's action cost him a five-year ban from European matches.

"In my sporting career I've had two "s***s". I made a clumsy mistake today. I'm sorry, I'm sorry I did that. I've made a mistake, I've made a blunder. I curse myself, I curse that irrational behaviour that I had tried to educate," said Juanito after the match. Stay tuned for more of the banned football players in our list of players who faced the longest bans in football history.

Enoch West - 30 years old

The English footballer Enoch West started his career in the early 20th century with Sheffield United. He moved to Nottingham Forrest for five pounds in 1905 and five years later became a Manchester United player, who he helped to the league title in 1911. He scored 80 goals in his career with the Red Devils. His most prolific season was 1911/12 when he scored 23 goals - seventeen in the league and a further six in the FA Cup.

He was one of eight players involved in a huge betting scandal in 1915. They were Manchester United and

footballers. What they were given were lifetime bans, but also the possibility that their punishment would be lifted if they enlisted in the army and fought in the First World War. All of them except West accepted this condition. Six of the seven men who took part in the battles returned to the field after the war, but West's teammate Sandy Turnbull from Old Trafford was killed.

West's lifetime ban was eventually lifted in 1945 - thirty years after it was imposed when he was 59. Until today, this is the longest disqualification in the history of football.

Roberto Rojas - Life ban

During a World Cup qualifying match in 1989, Chilean goalkeeper Roberto Rojas was allegedly the victim of a flare that was thrown from the stands of the Maracana stadium in

. He seemed to have been hit as his head and cheeks were covered in blood. He was carried off the pitch, and his teammates declined to continue the match, claiming it was too dangerous to do so. As a result, the match remained unfinished.

Later analysis of the video, however, showed that Rojas was not hit by the fireworks. The injury was self-inflicted with a razor blade that was hidden in his glove. The game was stopped by FIFA at 2-0 to Brazil, which meant that

lost the title. In addition, the country was disqualified from qualifying for the next World Cup in 1994, and goalkeeper Rojas was given a lifetime ban. He applied for a pardon in 2001, and FIFA lifted the ban.

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