QPR, Palace and Football's Biggest Christmas Party Disasters
Just five days ago, Harry Redknapp reportedly told his Queens Park Rangers players that their Christmas party was cancelled. "No, I'm not into Christmas parties, not for footballers," the manager told reporters. "I think it's more aggravation than it's worth."
How right 'Arry was.
The Hoops players appeared to defy the anti-celebratory orders to hold a joint gathering with Crystal Palace—which reportedly broke out into drink-spilling brawl-happy chaos as reported by The Sun (h/t 101 Great Goals).
If history has taught us anything, it's that footballer Christmas parties are a thoroughly bad idea. Here are some from the festive annals of time that didn't end well...
Manchester United, 2007
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One of the most infamous footballer Xmas parties was thrown by Rio Ferdinand on behalf of Manchester United's players in 2007. The Daily Mail's Richard Pendlebury detailed that WAGs were left at home as 100 girls from modelling agencies and shopping centres were brought to a party that started at 1:30 p.m.
The party was described as "very sleazy" by The Guardian's Richard Booth, who also noted "newspapers brought allegations that a drunk girl took part in an orgy with several men."
Jonny Evans subsequently faced allegations of rape but was not charged, and Sir Alex Ferguson was so unimpressed that he banned all festive parties under his reign.
Barnsley, 1997
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In his autobiography, German goalkeeper Lars Leese revealed that Barnsley's 1997 festive shindig contained some very offensive fancy dress.
According to When Saturday Comes, Leese claimed the party involved "one of the players dressing up as Hitler at the Christmas party and saluting him with a Sieg Heil."
Later that night, Leese claimed two Barnsley players had sex with strippers on stage.
Manchester City, 2004
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Manchester City's 2004 Christmas party took an ugly turn shortly after the players started playing a hilarious game of "let's burn holes in each other's clothes with cigars."
When youth player Jamie Tandy started goading Joey Barton, one thing led to another and Barton ended up stubbing out a cigar in his aggressor's eye.
Barton was fined three weeks' wages (£60,000) while Tandy was sent out on loan to Scandinavia.
Liverpool, 1998
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Described as "the most debauched Christmas party ever" by The News of the World (h/t The Independent), Liverpool's 1998 party was held in the basement of a pub.
The festivities were reported to have included strippers, sex toys and a healthy serving of whipped cream. Jamie Carragher is said to have smothered his chest in the aforementioned cream before he and another identified player allegedly had sex with some of the strippers.
Michael Owen is said to have simply stood in the corner looking "stunned" at what was unfolding before him.
West Ham, 1998
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The Hammers have a strong track record of disastrous Christmas parties. In 2012 Andy Carroll was accused of attacking a photographer, while Hayden Foxe lowered the tone at the 2001 bash when he urinated against the bar.
However, the 1998 party brought with it legal proceedings. BBC News reported that after a fancy dress event in Romford, Neil Ruddock and Trevor Sinclair were involved in an altercation with a 19-year-old beauty therapist driving a Mini. The former was charged with affray for allegedly throwing a glass bottle at the car while the latter was reprimanded for causing criminal damage.
Leicester, 2001
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Dennis Wise and Robbie Savage are no longer on each other's Christmas cards after an altercation at the Leicester party of 2001.
Wales Online relayed the events, including Wise allegedly giving Savage a teddy bear impaled on a sex toy, complete with the slightly non-sensical jibe: "Take this, because you're the only p---k in a Leicester shirt at the moment." Savage then felt it best to wipe chocolate on the face of the club's most senior player.
Fisticuffs ensued and the pair had to be separated.
Leeds, 2001
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On the very same evening Wise and Savage fell out while wearing paper crowns, Leeds Utd's stars went on a pub crawl dressed in military uniforms.
BBC Sport reported the team had security looking after them, though trouble still occurred when "a photographer tried to take pictures of Fowler sleeping" in a taxi. The scuffle that followed led to an arrest for the former Liverpool star, though he faced no punishment from his club.
Celtic, 2002
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Celtic's 2001 party ended in panic when Neil Lennon passed out and smashed his head on a curb, as recalled by The Mirror's Dan Silver.
In 2002, the Bhoys moved proceedings to Newcastle in "an effort to avoid attention," according to a spokeswoman at the time. That plan quickly fell apart when Neil Lennon, Bobby Petta, Johan Mjallby and Joos Valgaeren all ended up spending a night in the cells when a photographer alleged they had stolen a camera.
Tottenham, 2009
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Harry Redknapp's Scrooge-eque approach to Christmas celebrations may have stemmed from his experience at Tottenham in 2009, when he told his players not to have a drunken party. They insisted that they were only travelling to Dublin to play golf, but it turned out Robbie Keane allegedly organised an unauthorised booze-up.
Somehow, the idea of keeping a drunken party involving internationally famous sportsmen under wraps didn't work out. They lost a game to Wolves a few days later and Keane found himself loaned out to Celtic the following January.
