6 most infamous scandals in football
Football players getting caught with their fingers in the proverbial pie is an age-old tale. The pie has stood for many things over the years – George Best was a famous drunk back when profuse drinking wasn’t really frowned upon in football. Diego Maradona and Adrian Mutu will always be remembered for their infamous cocaine addictions and the countless tales about match fixing are just some of the controversies that have dogged our beloved sport.
And let’s not forget the numerous occasions footballers have failed to clear drug tests. Add a few corruption charges and cases of racism and you pretty much have the entire gamut of football controversies.
But what really captivates the imagination is the outrageous number of love life related scandals players have been involved in. You’d think they’s be smart enough to behave themselves considering how much their lives are played out in the public eye, but clearly they’re not.
While instances of such behaviour seem rampant among players, here’s a quick rundown of the 5 most infamous such scandals in football:
#6 A costly affair
Chelsea fans may love and respect John Terry, but the former England captain is a controversial figure who divides opinion, especially since he was charged by the FA in 2012 for using racist language against Anton Ferdinand. But things had already taken a turn for the worst so far as his public image was concerned back in 2010.
Rumours surfaced that Mr Chelsea had been having an affair with one Vanessa Perroncel. Turns out Ms Perroncel was the girlfriend of Terry's then Chelsea and England teammate Wayne Bridge.
In addition to rumours of the affair, it was also alleged he paid her to have an abortion after she had become pregnant. Even though Bridge’s girlfriend claimed all the rumours were false, they had far-reaching effects on Terry’s career as he was stripped of his England captaincy ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Bridge dropped out of the national squad claiming he could never play alongside his former teammate. In a horribly embarrassing moment, Bridge also refused to shake hands with Terry ahead of kickoff during a fixture between Chelsea and Manchester City.