Royal Wedding: 10 Bad Boy Footballers Who Won't Be Invited

Much has been made of David Beckham's invitation to tomorrow's royal wedding. Many have complained about the necessity of him being there and I am sure LA Galaxy fans aren't best pleased that he will be missing a game to attend.

Becks has long been seen as a poster boy for the sport, with a clean-cut family image that appears to be untarnishable.

However, for a bit of fun on this momentous day in British history, I thought I'd take a tongue-in-cheek look at some of world football's notorious bad boys who certainly won't be making an appearance on Friday.

El Hadji Diouf

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Is there anyone out there that genuinely likes this bloke?

There is no doubting that he is a talented footballer, having played at the highest level for the best part of a decade. 

However, he is truly one of football's bad boys, inciting pure hatred from opposing fans wherever he goes. Spitting, swearing and diving are just a few of the tricks up his sleeve. He was even described by Neil Warnock as "lower than a sewer rat."

So where did they send him? Glasgow. Into the middle of the biggest rivalry known to man. Genius.

Joey Barton

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Scouser Joey Barton is never far away from controversy.

Whether it is moaning at referees, assaulting a teammate or calling Frank Lampard "past it," Barton always finds a way to get in the headlines.

Joey was given a four-month prison sentence after his attack on Ousamane Dabo while the pair were playing for Manchester City.

Even this season, after having seemingly cleaned up his act, he punched Blackburn player Morten Gamst Pedersen and it all unravelled again.

Marco Materazzi

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Materazzi became a public hate figure after he wound up footballing hero Zinedine Zidane during the 2006 World Cup Final.

Zindane was so incensed by the Italian's words that he head-butted the lanky wind-up in the chest, leading to the Frenchman being sent off in his final footballing appearance.

A quick internet search reveals a treasure trove of reckless tackles and petulant trips but ultimately he'll be remembered for a blow he received.

Craig Bellamy

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Craig Bellamy seems to have a serious case of "little man syndrome."

The 5'8" Welsh striker has had his fair share of altercations throughout his career, which has seen him play for a host of clubs.

Despite having never been convicted of assault, he has been charged on five occasions, most recently in January after an alleged assault in which two men received facial injuries.

Ashley Cole

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I am going to keep this one short and sweet because I find it hard to talk about the Chelsea fullback without getting very angry.

Basically, any man that thinks it is OK to bring an air rifle to the training ground, his place of work, should not be anywhere near an occasion as important as the royal wedding.

Mario Balotelli

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He may have only been in the country for one season, and he may only be 20 years of age, but Balotelli has been enough to ensure that every football fan outside of Eastlands hates him.

Mario was described by Jose Mourinho as "unmanageable" and he has been sent off more than once in a Manchester City shirt and it is hard to imagine that many more won't follow.

Add to that the fact that he can't put a bib on properly and you have yourself a dysfunctional youngster.

Andy Carroll

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Another one who has made a negative name for himself at a young age, Andy Carroll has got a lot of growing up to do.

The 22-year-old has been arrested numerous times and last year was involved in a training ground altercation with then-Newcastle teammate Steven Taylor.

He was also charged for an incident with his girlfriend and although the charges were dropped he was forced to move in with Toon captain Kevin Nolan to calm him down.

Jermaine Pennant

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Jermaine Pennant was once sent home from training when he was playing Birmingham because he was allegedly drunk. 

Seven months beforehand the former England under-21 international was jailed for drunk-driving and, despite being bailed, was forced to wear an ankle tag.

As a Birmingham City fan myself, watching one of your team's players running around the pitch with a police tag on was extremely embarrassing.

Marlon King

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Marlon King recently returned to football after a spell behind bars.

The Coventry City striker was arrested on suspicion of punching a 20-year-old woman in the face. He was convicted of sexual assault and given 18 months inside, as well as being placed on the sex offender register.

Add to that convictions for 14 offences dating back to 1997 and the fact that he once head-butted Hull City teammate Dean Windass and you've got yourself one of football's nutcases.

Antonio Cassano

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Once labelled the most talented player of his generation, the Italian never really fulfilled his potential and has instead made a career of being a bit of a pain.

He seems to have bad-mouthed every manager he has played for, including Fabio Capello who he called "a piece of ****."

He also claims that by the age of 25 he had slept with between 600 and 700 women.

Not only that, he was given a five-game suspension in 2008 after throwing his shirt at a referee, while there are reports that he punched Marcello Lippi’s son Davide in a nightclub. Which is apparently why he was not invited to attend the World Cup.

Apparently he once stole a moped as well. What a gent.