Top brawls between manager and players

Football may be called the beautiful game, but it has an ugly side that has reared it’s head a lot. One of the most common sights is when a football match becomes a free-for-all bar fight. A not-so-common sight is when managers decide to join in as well! While one woudn’t normally expect a manager to start throwing fists at any given chance, it has happened on more than a few occasions.

Let’s take a look at 4 of the most publicised player-manager brawls in recent history:

Delio Rossi attacks Adam Ljajic (not in picture) while others try to restrain the manager.

Adam Ljajic vs. Delio Rossi

It was a one-time brawl yet it’s repercussions were somewhat far-reaching. During a match against Novara, Ljajic was substituted and while going off, he appeared to sarcastically applaud Fiorentina manager Delio Rossi. In retaliation, Rossi attacked him and had to be restrained by the bench from taking the fistgight further. Just a few hours after the incident, the club announced that they had sacked Rossi. He was later handed a 3-month ban from Italian football. Rossi did eventually apologise for the incident but tried to defend himself by claiming his actions were “deplorable, but understandable, humanly”.