Eric Cantona and 20 Crazy Red Cards in World Football History

Sunday marks the anniversary of a moment that many in football would rather forget and others argue over the rights or wrongs of the situation: Eric Cantona's red card and subsequent kung-fu kick attack on a Crystal Palace supporter.

The French former Manchester United star is far from the only recipient of a bizarre or senseless red card in the history of the game, of course, but his is one frequently brought into conversations because of its memorable nature.

Here are 20 of the weirdest and worst, led by Cantona himself.

Eric Cantona

The kick that claimed a thousand headlines.

Eric Cantona wasn't sent off for this; he had already received his marching orders from the pitch in the game between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Having hard a shout from someone in the crowd, he proceeded to launch himself over the ad boards to kung-fu kick the supporter.

He earned himself a lengthy ban and the disgust of most people in the game outside of Manchester United.

Tackling a Streaker

By all accounts this occurrence came in a game between Dorchester Town and Havant and Waterlooville—but we have no inkling who the offender was.

A pitch invader evaded the attentions of security staff until one player opted to take matters into his own hands and bring down the rogue runner—with a bit of a hefty throwdown, to be fair.

The referee opined that it was enough to deserve a sending off, meaning the player exited the field at the same time as the streaker!

....And Another One!

Just to prove that English non-league football isn't the only place where getting somebody off the pitch who shouldn't be there will get you book, here's another incident from Eastern Europe that resulted in the same outcome.

It was a bit less of a violent takedown, mind.

Three Bookings Equals a Red

Josip Simunic somehow managed to get away with being booked twice by Graham Poll at the World Cup for Croatia. Did he learn a lesson, though?

No, he most certainly did not. Simunic was sent off after receiving a third yellow card, so some form of justice was ultimately served...though not for the referee.

Graham Poll missed out on reffing the World Cup final as a result.

The video is simply Simunic getting a different red card for his nation in more normal circumstances. Well, normal for his style of tackling, anyway.

Joey Barton vs. All of Manchester City

Joey Barton, ladies and gentlemen.

A foul off the ball, a red card, a knee to the back of Sergio Aguero and an attempted headbutt on the way out.

Nice bloke.

Ben Sigmund: One Red Card or Two?

If at first you don't succeed in getting the ball, erm...try to break your opponent's legs?

The 2013 OSN Cup final saw New Zealand trailing to UAE when defender Ben Sigmund decided he had had enough—and promptly chopped down his opposite number. Not content with leaving him writhing on the ground, Sigmund purposely jumped and stamped, two-footed, on the prone attacker.

Straight red.

Leandro Marin: Ridiculous

Nothing to say here except:

a) This was a friendly match!

b) It's already a definite contender for worst tackle of 2015.

Eden Hazard's Ball-Boy Debacle

You can't kick a ball boy!

Eden Hazard didn't do any real damage here, let's be honest, but the ill-advised boot-out at the ball, which the ball boy was lying on top of, was always going to result in contact with the youngster—and Hazard can't really have been surprised to see the red card he was shown.

Top marks for theatrics and pained expressions, though, knowing the cameras were on him.

Legend on the Wannabe: Totti's Vicious Kick on Balotelli

Francesco Totti has been around the block a few times, and on most of that journey—as well as his wonderful technique and enduring scoring ability—he has carried with him a cynical and nasty streak.

Here, that side of him was in full flow, as he brutally hacked down Mario Balotelli from behind, clearly intending to do nothing more than hurt the player. There was no surprise or petulance from Totti when the card came out—he knew exactly what he was doing.

Pepe and Real Madrid Appealed This Red Card!

Like Ben Sigmund—but only with an extra attempt to damage his opponent!

Oh, and then he full-on punches a mildly innocent bystander for good measure!

Thug.

Preston Edwards, Record-Setter

Here is Preston Edwards, goalkeeper for Ebbsfleet United, getting a red card after just 10 seconds of play—all thanks to his full-back, who showed an inability to either pass, clear and then complete a back pass.

Start the video at 1:00 for the incident and Edwards' less than happy reaction.

Taras Stepanenko, Karate Champion

Kudos to the ref here for not letting a big brawl ensue after this—can you imagine Premier League or La Liga players not ending up in a 22-man handbags scene after something similar?!

Taras Stepanenko momentarily forgot that heads are supposed to remain attached to bodies as he launched himself into a mad-looking, side-on, off-the-ground karate kick in a World Cup qualifier for Ukraine against Moldova.

He can't really have been surprised to get a red, surely?!

The Career-Ender

Something along the lines of "he could have done serious injury there" is often said after a bad foul.

Well, Sandro Wieser did exactly that, tearing both the anterior and cruciate ligaments of opponent Gilles Yapi-Yapo, as well as damaging his meniscus, knee cartilage and tearing the kneecap itself.

As of late last year, Yapi-Yapo was expected to retire following the horrendous damage done by the tackle, and his club began legal proceedings against Wieser.

Awful Pitch, Awful Tackle, Awful Reaction

None of your Real Madrids, Manchester Uniteds or Romas here, folks—it's Stafford Rangers versus Frickley AFC.

A heated part of the game turns nasty with a terrible tackle (00:20), from which a massive, long, everybody-gets-involved brawl occurs. Two red cards are eventually dished out to players, including the initial offender of the tackle, another—who wasn't even playing—is dismissed from the touchline, and he then takes his seat...one row behind where he was sat anyway.

Two other important parts of the video to note: how bad is that pitch? And at 00:44 (may only be visible in full-screen mode), check out the top-right corner—the goalkeeper's leg appears, he trips himself up in the mud and ends up hurting his hand!

Fighting Team-Mates

There is still no logical explanation for this: Keiron Dyer and Lee Bowyer, team-mates for Newcastle United, fighting each other with fists flying and everything.

Both players were sent off.

Jonny Dos Santos

Technically, we're not sure if Jonny Dos Santos actually got red-carded for this—but he'll certainly see a suspension, and Cantona wasn't sent-off for his kung-fu kick, either, so we feel it's fine to slot this in!

This isn't the Villarreal midfielder but a lower-league player in Brazil who simply strode up to the referee at full time and launched a kung-fu kick to the official's head and upper body!

NESN reported that he was led from the field by police.

Seedorf Walks the Wrong Way

Clarence Seedorf provoked the ire of a referee by attempting to leave the field in the opposite direction to that which the official wanted him to and, after a few back-and-forth comments, ended up being booked.

After that, Seedorf assumed the worst was over (or else couldn't be bothered listening any more) and sprinted away in his original direction.

Needless to say, the referee perceived it as a slight on his authority and immediately showed Seedorf a second yellow.

Neymar Masks His Problems

Neymar was fond of scoring spectacular goals while playing in Brazil, and this one was no different. What was different was the ending.

He celebrated by putting on a mask of himself and was shown a second yellow by a referee with a sense of humour bypass.

Pose as yourself? Red card.

So Much Ouch

DISCLAIMER: This is an awful, high, two-footed tackle, and it has a bad outcome. Don't press play if you don't want to see it, especially the slow-mo, close-up, HD replay at 1:15.

Ruben Rayos, a former Barcelona youth player, is the man who committed the offence playing for Maccabi Haifa.

OUCH.

Even the Medics Aren't Safe

We know ball boys and fans can get involved in the action by now, but what about those who are there only to help? Medical staff, it seems, are not immune from attack—as our final slide shows. And it's a two for one for you to sign off with.

The above video is the more ridiculous of the two perhaps, with Cameroon's Andre Bikey running up and shoving a medical officer to ground over an outstretched leg as he tried to assist team-mate Rigobert Song, who was lying on the ground.

You can also here see Javier Mascherano sent off for kicking the shoulder of a medical man carting him off the field during a game! Both incidents resulted in straight red cards.

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