16 Footballers Who Are a Referee's Nightmare

Let me tell you a story.

There's a recreational soccer league in my hometown where I play for a team of old dudes, illegal immigrants and washed-up former college players. We win a few games, draw a few games and lose a whole, whole lot of games.

A while back, we brought back a talented forward who had led us to the first division (there's also a premiership above it) back when I first joined the team. He had all the moves, superior speed and a lethal shot from long distance. Let's call him Chris.

Chris couldn't get along with referees. For every goal he scored, he earned a booking. For every season he played with us, he got sent off at least twice. For every game he started, he sat out another through suspension.

He was a referee's nightmare. Chris came from a family of referees. His mom and dad both officiated in our league but avoided our games. Chris, of course, thought he knew better than every referee out there.

He argued every call. He conjured the "Are you kidding me?" spirit of John McEnroe. He earned a reputation.

And he earned us that same reputation. We became known as a team that referees didn't want to deal with. We struggled. We eventually fell to the third division and haven't made it back.

So when Chris came back, a lot of people didn't know what to think. Sure, he was talented, but he was also unstable. The worriers were right. He got a few cards and failed to score. We got rid of him again before too long.

What's the point of all this? At every level of football, there are players who can't get along with referees.

They argue. They play dirty. They dive. They play every position and they come from every country of the world. Whatever. The bottom line is, they're a nightmare for referees to deal with.

This is a list of those players at the highest levels of world football.

Enjoy.

Joey Barton

Joey Barton is the Premier League's reigning bad boy.

Before moving to Queens Park Rangers in August, he made a name for himself at Newcastle United and Manchester City.

It wasn't a good name.

Barton feuded with his club. He feuded with whoever he could find. He got other players sent off. He made horrific tackles.

Now he keeps feuding with whoever is around.

He's not just a nightmare for referees. He's a nightmare for everybody.

Nigel De Jong

Nigel De Jong plays defensive midfield for Manchester City and the Netherlands. He's what you might call a dirty tackler.

For his antics on the pitch, De Jong has earned the nickname "Der Rasenmäher." In English? The Lawnmower.

Here's one reason why. (Holden missed six weeks due to his injury.)

Here's another.

And another.

Enough said.

Didier Drogba

We all sympathized with Didier Drogba after his recent injury.

But that didn't change the fact that he's one of the world's worst divers.

Or best, depending on the way you want to look at it.

Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry doesn't play in Europe anymore.

But don't worry. Crossing the Atlantic to play in America hasn't changed his ability to dive.

And we could never forget the handball.

What a nightmare.

Adriano

Sticking with the theme of divers, it's hard to beat Adriano.

At least he earned a two-match ban for this one.

Shameless.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo dives.

That's like saying the sun shines and the sky is blue.

It's just true. Everybody knows it.

He's so good at it, he has his own diving manual.

Now the referees need their own manual to deal with him.

Alberto Gilardino

Alberto Gilardino gained worldwide fame for his poor diving abilities in a Champions League match against Celtic.

The referee caught this one, but he's still a handful.

Morten Gamst Pedersen

Ok, ok, ok. So this is the last diving slide.

But this one really takes the cake. Morten Gamst Pedersen, this is your life.

Funny thing is, some guy did this to me in a high school match. I got carded.

What a punk.

Andre Bikey

Now we return to the realm of violent footballers.

Andre Bikey, a Reading defender, got sent off for a stamp on Burnley's Robbie Blake a while back. Then he went nuts.

(Strangely enough, Bikey now plays for Burnley.)

He got sent off for the stamp. But trust me, every referee hates dealing with stuff like this.

Here's another incident involving Bikey.

He's just an unstable guy. And that's tough on refs.

Marco Materazzi

Marco Materazzi is an aggressive player. He talks trash. He plays rough. He gets other players in trouble.

For his teammates with Inter Milan and Italy, those are solid qualities to have in a human being.

For referees, it's a nightmare.

We all know about his most famous incident.

Emmanuel Eboue

So, we were just kidding about being done with the divers.

We can't leave out Emmanuel Eboue. He's such a bad diver, he actually earned a reprimand from his manager.

Oh, and his manager is Mr. Myopia himself, Arsene "I didn't see ze incident" Wenger.

Steven Gerrard

One more diver, then we're really, really done.

This one kinda hurts. Most everybody loves Steven Gerrard. He gives 100 percent every match. He inspires Liverpool to greatness with his will alone.

But he really does like to take a dive from time to time.

Considering Gerrard's strong reputation, it's hard for referees to deal with him fairly.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Let's get back to the tough guys.

Most people might not think of a forward as a tough guy, but AC Milan's Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic certainly qualifies.

As The Times writes, he has the "sharpest elbows in Europe, and isn't fussy where he sticks them."

Here's a good compilation of Ibra's skills as a scorer and elbower.

Christian Poulsen

Sometimes, a player's rough play can have consequences far from the football pitch.

That's the case with Christian Poulsen, a legendary Danish tough guy.

As Dirty Tackle writes:

"He earned a red card for punching Swedish striker Markus Rosenberg in the stomach during a World Cup qualifier, causing a Danish supporter to run on the pitch and attempt to attack the referee, another fan to press legal charges on Poulsen, the Danish minister of justice to plea for his expulsion from the national team, and a member of the Copenhagen metropolitan police to call for the midfielder to submit to a 30-day jail sentence. That caused Denmark to take a 3-0 loss, as the game was abandoned due to the madness, but the rest of Poulsen's tough-guy artillery (when within the rules of the game) can often spur his team to victory."

He can also be a nightmare for referees.

Khalid Boulahrouz

Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz is sometimes called "Khalid the Cannibal."

I guess that's because he eats up other players with his violent tactics.

Here's a good example.

Hey! Cristiano Ronaldo wasn't diving!

Michael Bradley

As an American, I'm hesitant to put Michael Bradley on this list.

But he belongs.

If "Chris" from my team has a professional equivalent, he would be Michael Bradley.

Bradley likes to complain about every call. He loves to argue with refs. He thinks he knows more than them because his daddy is a coach.

And he gets into a lot of fights.

Simply put, he's a nightmare for refs.