The stakes for every professional footballer is always high when he steps onto the pitch. They’re even higher for those playing in the Premier League, with millions watching from around the world. The pressure to win at any cost can get to some players, especially those with a short fuse, resulting in some ugly scenes on the pitch.
Here, we take a look at the 5 ugliest player feuds in the Premier League:
Raheem Sterling vs Joe Gomez
Raheem Sterling left Liverpool in acrimonious circumstances in 2015, joining Manchester City. Sterling is one player that Liverpool fans hate, and that hatred must have multiplied after his recent controversy involving Liverpool defender, Joe Gomez. In the match between Liverpool and Manchester City in November 2019, the two clashed in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over City. It seemed like the two had kissed and made up before meeting up a few days later for national team duty.
But, Sterling wasn’t happy with Gomez and the two had a fight at St George’s Park, with the Manchester City player putting Gomez in a headlock. Sterling was removed from the squad and sent home.
Alf-Inge Haaland vs Roy Keane
Alf-Inge Haaland, the father of teenage hotshot Erling Braut Haaland, played in English football for Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, and Manchester City. Haaland was in a bitter feud with then Manchester United captain Roy Keane, which began when the former mocked the Irishman of faking an injury during a clash between Leeds and Manchester United.
Keane was not one to forget easily, and a few years later, when Haaland was at City, the Irish midfielder tackled dangerously on Haaland, hurting his knee. Keane later said that he made that tackle on purpose, to get some retribution for what Haaland did a few years earlier. Haaland’s career ended following that injury, but he revealed that Keane’s tackle did not result in him calling time on his career and that his knee had been bothering him for a while.
Lee Bowyer vs Kieron Dyer
Teammates fall out on the pitch a lot of times, but they usually keep the arguments – and the odd fight – for the dressing room. But, Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer did things differently when the duo was playing for Newcastle United in 2005 in a game against Aston Villa. The two midfielders had an argument when Dyer didn’t pass the ball to Bowyer, and then fists were thrown at each other, before being separated by teammates and even the opposition.
Both of them were sent off, which made it three red cards in the game for Newcastle United as Steven Taylor had already been sent off earlier in the game.
Patrick Vieira vs Roy Keane
Arsenal and Manchester United went neck and neck in the Premier League in the late 90s and early 2000s, dominating the Premier League. The rivalry between the two managers, Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson was intense, as was the feud between the two captains, Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane.
The two fiery and charismatic leaders went head-to-head for a number of seasons, and it reached a boiling point at Highbury in 2005. The Arsenal captain was trying to get under the skin of Manchester United full-back Gary Neville, about fouling Arsenal winger Jose Antonio Reyes. Keane took offence to this and verbally confronted Vieira in the tunnel at Highbury, in what was an ill-tempered game.
Emmanuel Adebayor vs Nicklas Bendtner
Emmanuel Adebayor isn’t really loved by the Arsenal fans due to his actions against them, and it’s quite clear that he did not get along with his former Gunners teammate, Nicklas Bendtner, as well. In the 2007-08 League Cup semi-final match against arch-rivals Tottenham, the two strikers got into an argument when the two began to push each other before a corner. The Gunners were already 4-1 down in the game and the frustration of the result not going their way got to the two controversial strikers.