Never modest, Bulgaria and Barcelona striker Hristo Stoichkov was quoted in 1990 as saying: «There are two Christs. One plays for Barcelona, the other is in heaven.»
Ipswich Town fined David Norris for a goal celebration in 2008 in support of a friend who killed two boys and maimed their father. Town docked Norris the maximum two weeks’ wages for a controversial handcuffs’ goal celebratiion in honour of goalkeeper Luke McCormick who was jailed for seven years and four months for killing Arron Peak, ten, and his brother Ben, eight, white drunkenly driving home from Norris’ wedding on 7 June 2008. Ipswich acted promptly in punishing Norris whose fine went to a road safety charity. Norris, who apologised to the dead boys’ parents, had insisted the gestuire was a message to a friend who had «made a mistake».
Lazio striker Paolo Di Canio defended the raised-arm salute that earned him a one-game ltalian league ban in 2004 by saying: «I am a fascist, not a racist.» Di Canio caused an outcry among politicians, players, fans and Jewish groups in a country desperate to forget its fascist past by making the stiff-armed salute after being substituted in the 1-1 draw with Juventus. The player, who was also fined €10,000, added: «I made the Roman salute because it’s a salute from a comrade to his comrades and was meant for my people. I do not want to incite violence or racial hatred.» Di Canio had made the gesture several times before during his time at Lazio, which has historically been linked with former dictator Mussolini.
Gary Neville, the former Manchester United regular, tried to lengthen his side’s winning runs in the 1990s and Noughties by wearing the same clothes on matchdays, including belts and shoes.
The famous white cockerel is on the badge of Tottenham Hotspur, but it might well have been a parrot instead. The club made a ground-breaking tour of Argentina and Uruguay in 1908, a trip that took weeks by ship. On the return two Spurs players used pirate costumes and the ship’s parrot to win a fancy dress competition. The parrot was presented to the club when the ship docked again in England and the bird took up residence at the White Hart Lane ground where, after a pampered 11 years as a mascot, it died.
It took almost 40 years for France to play its old colony Algeria in an international. But the politically sensitive match in 2001, 39 years after Algeria’s independence, had to be abandoned when thousands of youths rioted at the game in Paris.
France, who took two weeks to sail to the 1930 World Cup in South America, were soon on the boat back when a referee blew for time six minutes early. The French had gone a goal down to Argentina in 81 minutes and were attacking when the whistle went on 84 minutes.
Enigmatic England striker Stan Bowles turned out for his country against Holland in 1977 sporting different boots. With an Adidas on his left foot and a Gola on his right, he was honouring two separate boot sponsorship deals.
Graeme Souness committed one of tlhe cardinal sins of Turkish football in 1996. As a celebration for his Galatasaray team’s surprise Turkish Cup win over bitter local Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce he planted a Galatasaray flag in the middle of the Fenerbahce pitch. It sparked fury because, before the game, the clubs had traded a insults. The Fenerbahce chairman made comments about Souness as a coach and so, with his inflammatory flag celebration in the iconic style of Turkish hero Ulubatli Hasan who was killed as he planted the Ottoman flag at the end of the siege of Constantinople, he metaphorically stuffed the words back down their speaker’s throat. Galatasaray won the first leg 1-0, then in the hellish atmosphere of the Fenerbahce Stadium, the teams were level on aggregate before an extra-time Dean Saunders’ goal won it. Souness was never punished.
SV Hamburg’s Yugoslav coach Branko Zebec developed a reputation for sleeping during matches. He won the Bundesliga in 1978 and was runner-up a year later but was fired in 1980.
Being multi-talented in several positions in his team proved fatal for ace winger Libardo Zuniga. He swapped the freedom on the wing in 1977 for the goalmouth when Colombian second division side Santa Rose de Cabal’s goalkeeper was injured. After taking over in goal Zuniga literally threw himself into the new task and played a blinder. Unfortunately for Zuniga, his performance was so good that it upset an opposition striker, who vented his frustration by kicking the stand-in goalie in the groin with such force that he subsequently died from the injuries.
There was an outcry in 2008 when Australian striker Tim Cahill dedicated a goal to a brother who had been jailed for partially blinding a man. Millions watching on TV were puzzled when Everton’s Cahill celebrated a goal by putting his wrists together as though handcuffed. He explained it was a gesture of support for his brother, who is serving a six-year sentence for grievous bodily harm. Tim said: «I am just proud that he is happy and I am happy and l’m thinking of him always.» However, his words glossed over what was described in court as «a vicious and cowardly attack» in which the victim lost the sight in one eye.
