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10 worst displays of sportsmanship

Over the years, there have been several displays of unsportsmanlike behaviour by athletes both on and off the field. Many times, players have escaped without punishment with their errors not spotted by match officials or referees.

Here, we look at 10 of the most well-known cases of bad sportsmanship:

Lewis Hamilton, Monaco Grand Prix 2015

Hamilton refused to acknowledge Rosberg on the podium

Lewis Hamilton, fresh off his third World Championship title, ranks among the best in the sport, and even in 2016, despite not being able to match up to his 2015 performances, showed immense racing skill at the recently-concluded Chinese Grand Prix, with a decent points finish after a back-of-the-grid start.

Unfortunately for the Briton, he has also become known for his reprehensible behaviour off the track. His rivalry and fallout with teammate Nico Rosberg was played out openly in the international media over the 2015 Formula One season.

Although Hamilton ran away with the championship halfway through the season, Rosberg took a late charge to make up for the first half of the year. At that year's Monaco Grand Prix, it was reigning champion Hamilton who started on pole, hoping to widen his championship lead.

Rosberg took an early lead and stuck to it until the end of the race – which incensed Hamilton, who eventually finished in third behind Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari. In his anger, Hamilton drove into the sign marker at the end of the street track, knocking it down.

That was not the end of his behaviour; with Rosberg, Vettel and Hamilton called up onto the podium, Hamilton refused to acknowledge his teammate at all, to widespread criticism from team bosses, Merecdes AMG non-executive chairman Niki Lauda, and F1 icons and former world champions John Surtees and Mika Hakkinen.

Matters have been tense between the teammates and childhood friends, who grew up together on the karting circuit. With Rosberg running away with the championship lead three races into the season, it remains to be seen how matters play out between the pair. For now, Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff has also admitted publicly that all is not well between the pair, but the team are managing for the moment.

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