20 Most Hot-Tempered Footballers in History

A lot of great football both past and present have some pretty bad tempers.

Many footballers are passionate about their work but their is a difference between being passionate and having a temper.

Some players could be described as "hard men," others as just being competitive but their temper normally leads to disaster.

As usual, if there are players that you feel are missing from this list just point them out in the comments.

Here is a list of some of the most hot-tempered players in world football history.

Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona had disciplinary problems his whole career, and the above video shows one of his most famous hot tempered moments.

Cantona was a cool customer with the ball at his feet, but had his fair of trouble with referees, officials and opponents during his career.

Duncan Ferguson

Duncan Ferguson currently leads the list of Premier League players with the most red cards. He has eight.

Despite his position as a striker, Ferguson gained the reputation of "hardman" in the game. One example of his temper was the infamous head-butt in a game against Raith Rovers.

Vinnie Jones

Vinnie Jones is listed higher up on the same "hardmen" list as Duncan Ferguson. The video's "psycho" description seems pretty accurate (the tackling starts at about minute one).

Jones' temper and aggressive style resulted in his six Premier League red cards, and he was a member of Wimbledon's Crazy Gang.

Lee Bowyer

When Lee Bowyer comes to mind, so does this incident. Bowyer certainly has a lengthy rap sheet that includes both on and off-field incidents.

As mentioned at the end of the article, "Bowyer remains the most booked player of all time in the Premier League with 98 cautions to his name."

Ariel Ortega

Ariel Ortega was a player full of skills and trickery but he also had a temper about him too. If anyone doesn't remember his sending off against Holland in the 1998 World Cup, here is a clip.

Antonio Cassano

Antonio Cassano's reputation precedes him. At this point in his career he is a lot more mellow, but while at Bari and especially at Roma, his temper was his greatest weakness.

Alan Smith

Just like with Cassano, Alan Smith's temper has been tempered with age. Still, he has been a fiery character throughout his career, especially while at Leeds.

Paolo Di Canio

Paolo Di Canio is an intriguing figure for this list. He won the FIFA Fair Play award in 2001 for this incident. In contrast, he is infamous for his 11 match ban which resulted from this push on a referee.

Throughout his career Di Canio had a fiery temper, and it seems he carried this over to his coaching career.

Roy Keane

Roy Keane's temper led to seven red cards during his time in the Premier League.

He was a competitive player and that cannot be faulted, but some of the actions before and after any tackle or clash with a player were a result of his hot temper escalating the situation.

Patrick Vieira

Like some of other players on this list, Patrick Vieira's temper was very prominent during his younger days. Interestingly enough, a lot of his most temperamental moments came when he was faced with Roy Keane.

He ranks among the top three of that great list of Premier League red cards. He's among the top 10 in bookings as well.

Joey Barton

As one of the commentators in this video says, "Every know and again the red mist comes down on him."

That about says it for Joey Barton.

Thomas Gravesen

Thomas Gravesen was strong in the tackle, or reckless if you prefer, and definitely had a temper. Along with numerous on the field incidents he was involved in a training ground spat with Robinho.

Here is an excerpt from an interview with Gravesen admitting his problems with his temper when he was younger.

Dennis Wise

Dennis Wise is another member of the Crazy Gang to make this list. Wise was a talented footballer, but he had his share of disciplinary problems on and off the pitch, most notably during his time with Chelsea.

Hristo Stoichkov

Hristo Stoichkov was a talented player with a temper. During his career he was noted for his aggression toward both referees and opposing players.

Gennaro Gattuso

Gennaro Gattuso was one of the best defensive midfielders in his day, but while some skills have left him, his temper has not.

Wayne Rooney

As the red card and resulting suspension from the Montenegro vs. England game showed, Wayne Rooney still hasn't been able to overcome his temper.

With a good amount of his career ahead of him he has time to change that. For now, he is deservedly on this list.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a nose for the spectacular on the field but, sometimes his temper gets the best of him.

After a fight with recently departed teammate Oguchi Onyewu, Ibrahimovic shed some light on how his temper played a part in his past.

Pepe

To be honest, Pepe is probably more crazy than just hot tempered but he still fits in the list. Along with this incident he was involved in a training ground fight with former teammate Javier Balboa.

When Pepe runs around on the pitch he looks a bit crazy and his temper only escalates any situation he gets into.

John Hartson

This incident shed some light on John Hartson. Though he was provoked, the reaction was definitely a result of a bad temper.

Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli has had his fair share of training ground bust-ups, suspensions and sending offs. Like Pepe, it may be that he is a little more crazy than just hot tempered, but it's all the same.