Five of the worst… Fouls of 2009

Last weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures saw nine red cards. The culprits included Barry Ferguson, Jamie Carragher and Jlloyd Samuel.

The figure was the highest amount of dismissals for one weekend in over a decade of Premier League football.

The Sport Review takes a look at five of the worst fouls of 2009, not just in England but around Europe too. All are worthy of a straight red. This feature isn’t for the faint hearted — you have been warned.

1. The eagerly-anticipated game between Anderlecht and Standard Liege will be remembered the tackle from Axel Witsel on Anderlecht’s Polish defender Marcin Wasilewski broke his right leg. The tackle came midway through the first half and earned Witsel a straight red card. Wasilewski is expected to miss the rest of the season.

2. After receiving a push from Real Madrid’s Pepe, Getafe’s Javier Casquero promptly tumbles to the ground inside the penalty area. A disgruntled Pepe unleashes his frustrations on Casquero, kicking him twice, while also stamping on the player’s leg.

3. One of the worst tackles of 2009 came when Newcastle United clashed with Everton at St. James’ Park earlier in the year. Kevin Nolan’s reckless tackle left Toffee striker Victor Anichebe in agony.

“I’ve never felt as much pain in my life,” said Anichebe. “I thought I’d broken my leg. I couldn’t even look down, to be fair. It was a terrible tackle.”

4. Who needs enemies when you’ve got friends like these? Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie may not have been the best of mates during Adebayor’s time at the Emirates but after this apparent stamp on his former team-mate, the pair certainly won’t be exchanging Christmas cards.

5. How often have football fans across the globe seen Cristiano Ronaldo theatrically fall to the turf? However on this occasion, he is felled by a horrific tackle by Juventus’ Zedenek Grygera. The reaction of Ronaldo is notable, instead of rolling on the ground, he remains rigid.