If there is one thing we have learnt in the days since Chelsea striker Didier Drogba’s rant at the ref last week is that a genuine sporting blow-up is even more entertaining than any piece of sporting brilliance.
Sure, we may marvel when Benji Marshall goose steps and throws a match winning flick pass or Buddy Franklin kicks an arsey goal from the sideline, but nothing has us logging onto YouTube with quite as much fervour as an athlete doing his
banana.
Here are some of the biggest dummy spits in sport, as Drogba is far from alone when it comes to the Premier League.
Eric Cantona
Who could ever forget Eric Cantona’s flying karate kick into the stands after being abused by Crystal Palace fans back in 1995 – but it did get us reminiscing?
Jeff Tarango
The former US tennis pro infamously walked off the
court during a match in 1995. Tarango was trailing little-known Alexander Mronz when he decided that the umpire wasn’t doing all he could to help.
“That’s it, I’m not playing,” Tarango screamed.
“You’re one of the most corrupt officials in the game and you cannot get away with this.”
His
wife even got in on the act by running up and slapping the umpire in the face. Tarango was later fined more than $60,000 and banned for two grand slams.
Latrell Sprewell
Going one better was NBA star Latrell Sprewell two years later, who responded poorly to criticism by coach P.J. Carlesimo during a training session and choked him to the ground.
Teammates hauled him off but the then Golden State Warriors guard returned 20 minutes later and landed a deft
right hook that would later see him sacked.
Paul Morris
Touring car driver Paul Morris knows how to land them too.
In 1994, Morris jumped out of his car after a
crash with rival Tony Longhurst and punched him in the head three times – apparently ignoring the fact that both were still wearing helmets.
Harbhajan Singh
Two summers ago it was India threatening to quit their Australian tour if controversial off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was found guilty of racially vilifying Andrew Symonds.
Arjuna Ranatunga
Sri Lanka’s Arjuna Ranatunga had previously taken his team as far as the boundary rope during that the infamous summer when Aussie umpires Darrell Hair and Ross Emerson began no-balling Muttiah Muralitharan.
Pakistan cricket team
Hair was again at the centre, having first warned Pakistan of ball-tampering and then docking them five runs. Pakistan responded by refusing to return to the field after tea and Hair made them pay by awarding the Test to England. That result was later overturned and eventually re-instated while Hair took the brunt of the fall-out when the weak-willed ICC stood him down from international duty.
Ricky Stuart
The former Kangaroos coach cost himself a job during last year’s Rugby League World Cup when he lambasted referee Ashley Klein in the wake of Australia’s loss to New Zealand in the final. The next morning, Stuart is reported to have fired “You’re the c*** that cost us the World Cup” before eventually being dragged away. He was sacked as Kangaroos coach a week later.
Jon Drummond
RALPH.com’s all-time favourite however – more for its comedic value than anything else – are the antics of former US sprinter Jon Drummond during the 2003 World Championships. Disqualified for a false start in the 100m, he wildly protested his innocence and then proceeded to lie flat on the ground in the middle of the track, delaying the start of the race by more than an hour. Ironically, when data from the starting blocks was closely studied in the following days it was discovered that Drummond hadn’t actually false-started at all. What a f*k up!
Ben Blaschke
What's your most favourite dummy spit in sport? Leave your comment below
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