15 Horrendous Fouls That Deserved Two Red Cards

As football progresses, the art of tackling has become one of the most scrutinised areas of the modern game. Challenges have evolved so drastically over the past decade that even players who began playing around the time the Premier League formed would simply not survive in the current era. How many red cards would the likes of Vinnie Jones accumulate were he playing now?

Referees are told to deem intent and aggression as part of a foul, two hugely prevalent elements from previous years. Nowadays if a player goes to ground anywhere approaching 180 degrees to an oncoming opponent, fans have to fear the worst. 

However, despite increasing stubbornness on what exactly merits a foul, there are some tackles so severe that they would receive the same sentence regardless of the year. Here is a list of some of the worst from more recent times, split into categories.

The Goalkeepers: Rustu Recber

We start with the goalkeepers. For comedy value, specifically for the neutral, there is nothing better than a goalkeeper charging recklessly off his line, out of his box, and chancing his arm against outfield players.

Sometimes they pull it off, but when it goes wrong, it is generally spectacular. Here, Turkish stopper Rustu Recber almost decapitates poor Kieron Dyer. It gets worse with each viewing!

Harald Shumacher

This category would never be complete without this famous clip taken from the 1982 World Cup. 

The German goalkeeper, Harald Schumacher, hit France's Patrick Battiston so hard he slipped into a coma on the pitch!

Ivica Kralj

Ivica Kralj perfectly illustrates why goalkeepers should stay in goal, as he missed the ball by an absolute mile. 

How his victim gets up from this brutal attempt at a tackle is remarkable, and any referee seeing this would surely flourish a red card within seconds!

Bill Hamid

This was taken from the MLS, where Bill Hamid performs his best impersonation of a central defender.

Perhaps this does not have quite as much malice involved in it as the other clips here, but just think of the damage he could have caused the unfortunate victim who goes cartwheeling over.

The Ultimate Low Blows: Adeola Runsewe

These next few slides are slightly more painful to watch, and may cause a few watery eyes!

This is taken from Denmark, and how HB Koge's Adeola Runsewe gets away with a yellow card is simply baffling.  

Tresor Mputu

This is probably my favourite, a moment enhanced by the player's shock at receiving his red card despite his hideous actions.

Congolese striker, Tresor Mputu, becomes a little agitated at being unable to retrieve the ball. You can just about hear the obvious pain of the poor player being fouled.

Locating this video has proved troublesome. Either scan forward to 4:45 on the above YouTube highlights, or watch it here, in less detail. Thoughts go out to the unfortunate victim!

Pure Evil: Ben Thatcher

For this next category, here are some moments when players seem to abandon common sense and go in hard, knowing they are going to leave a mark on their opponent.

Here, Manchester City's Ben Thatcher knocks Pendro Mendes unconscious and, unbelievably, only gets booked! Mendes in fact suffered a seizure, and required oxygen, which makes Thatcher's initial indigent stance all the more shocking.

Michael Brown

Yet another yellow card that defies belief.

Never the most technically-gifted player, Michael Brown slowly gained a reputation for being feisty in the tackle, as Ryan Giggs will verify. Exactly what was he intending to do here? He seems to jump away from the ball.

Roy Keane

Here we see Roy Keane's infamous clash with Alf-Inge Haaland, and he's since admitted that he intentionally fouled the Norwegian.

The revelation came a few years later via his autobiography, where Keane graphically described how he sought retribution for an earlier altercation between the two central midfielders. Haaland seemingly struggled to ever recover from this tackle, barely playing after.

Something Snaps: Eric Cantona

Other instances of extreme foul play occur when players simply seem to explode and lose the plot. 

Eric Cantona's famous kung-fu kick at Selhurst Park is hard to ignore under this heading. At the time it was a moment that stunned the football world.

Zinedine Zidane

On the grandest stage of them all, the World Cup final, Zinedine Zidane left the football world stunned when he chose to head-butt Italy's Marco Materzzi.

The French captain claimed he was provoked, but regardless of insults, his actions would receive a red card on any pitch, any time. This proved to be his last game, and his dismissal unfortunately tarnished the final chapter of his glorious career.

Paul Gascoigne

Tottenham's Paul Gascoigne chose to lunge in on Nottingham Forest's Gary Charles during the 1991 FA Cup final, putting his blossoming career on ice.

Not only was his foul reckless, but he ended up worse off than his victim. Gascoigne suffered cruciate ligament damage and missed almost an entire year of football at a time when he was approaching the very pinnacle of the game.

Final Contenders: Axel Witsel

To finish, here is a broader range of entries, starting with this one from Axel Witsel that is hard to view. Do not watch if you have a weak stomach.

Before there are floods of comments about recent Martin Taylor, Ryan Shawcross, Lucas Neill or other such horrific leg breaking challenges, they all absolutely deserve recognition in a piece like this. However, in terms of actual footage, one broken leg was certainly enough to see! 

French Aerial Assault

If the ball is in the air, players never quite seem to understand that if you go for it with your feet, it will generally be a foul for dangerous play.

Referees take that stance to prevent instances like this! Unfortunately, as of yet, the player committing this foul has proved difficult to locate, although the highlight was certainly taken from the French League, for any budding French football experts in the know. 

Benjamin Massing

To finish, one of the funnier entries. Leading the mighty Argentina 1-0 at the World Cup, Cameroon just simply cannot get the ball off Claudio Caniggia.

As the forward progresses, the Africans become a little more desperate each time he evades a challenge. Determined to maintain their lead, Massing eventually shows his teammates how to end his run, and then promptly receives his marching orders.

Feel free to add any entries you feel deserve a place in this list.

Thanks for reading!

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