Battle of the Infamous Footballers

[LongHopCassidy]

edit: and on a serious note, telling his biological parents to **** off definitely shouldn't be up there.

I thought about that one. Digging a bit deeper revealed that he wasn't forcibly taken into foster care; his parents willingly gave him up to save him from the slum he was in. Make of that what you will, I guess.

 

[Furball]

I thought about that one. Digging a bit deeper revealed that he wasn't forcibly taken into foster care; his parents willingly gave him up to save him from the slum he was in. Make of that what you will, I guess.

Think about that from the kid's perspective.

 

[LongHopCassidy]

Think about that from the kid's perspective.

They did it for his welfare. It was equally emotionally wrenching for them.

Here's the guts of the story (with whatever grain of salt you give the Daily Heil).

At first they lived in a cramped studio flat with another African family before asking social services for help, pointing out Mario had recently recovered from an operation.

Social workers suggested Mario should be fostered. They proposed Francesco and Silvio Balotelli, who already had two sons and a daughter of their own.

The Balotellis, a white Italian family, lived in a large house in Concesio, an affluent town six miles north of Brescia. They could offer two-year-old Mario a lifestyle of which Mr Barwuah and his wife could only dream.

Mr Barwuah said: ‘At first we were not sure but we decided it was probably best for Mario. We saw him every week and we all got on really well.

It's not like they sold him to gypsies. Moreover, it's doubtful he's developed the mental maturity to acknowledge the lifeline he was thrown.

 

[LongHopCassidy]

Round 1, Battle 2 results:

Bruce Grobbelaar - 7
Robbie Savage - 3
Mario Balotelli - 0

 

[Mark68]

The one and thankfully only KEVIN MUSCAT

A thug masquerading as a footballer.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

I see Stan Collymore has been having a bit of a cry about having some offensive tweets directed at him. I'm sure some of them were pretty poor and the tweeters should be censured, but it sure is tough to feel any sympathy for a guy who gave his girlfriend a kicking.

 

[GIMH]

They were just outright and disgusting racism though. No excuse for it.

And while what he did was beyond scummy, it was 16 years ago. Doesn't justify a lifetime of abuse does it? I don't think it needs bringing into the issues he's been raising to be brutally honest.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

They were just outright and disgusting racism though. No excuse for it.

And while what he did was beyond scummy, it was 16 years ago. Doesn't justify a lifetime of abuse does it? I don't think it needs bringing into the issues he's been raising to be brutally honest.

I haven't seen the tweets in question, and whilst has assault on Ulrika was 16 years ago, he's hardly been squeaky clean since then - threatening to burn his partners parents' house down (2007), getting into a brawl with rugby players in Dublin (2005). But yeah, racism isn't acceptable, but I'm hardly surprised that's he's attracting abuse. What I'm most surprised by is that he apparently has 500,000 twitter followers.

 

[GIMH]

I thought the burning the house down thing was an allegation that was withdrawn?

Anyway as a follower of Collymore. When I first started reading his tweets, I was surprised that I found him to be such good value. Has a passion for football and discusses it well. That's why he gets so many followers.

 

[LongHopCassidy]

Let's resuscitate this. Sorry for the flaking.

Robin Friday (Reading)

Crimes:

- Pissed away prodigious talents
- Stole a car at 16, skipped juvi because of his asthma, then stole another car
- Drunkard (scored an injury-time winner while inebriated), narcotic enthusiast, serial cheater, estranged his wife
- Publicly flashed girls in a nightclub
- Squirrel-gripper in games, justified as 'psychological warfare'
- Took a dump in a rival player's kitbag after first kicking him in the face
- Impersonated a police officer, went around confiscating heroin from local junkies, then used it himself

"On the pitch I hate all opponents. I don't give a damn about anyone. People think I'm mad, a lunatic. I am a winner." - Friday on Friday

"I'm half your age and I've lived twice your life." - On being told he could play for England if he got off the smack

"...turning up drunk to training carrying a swan..." - Extract from a Reading disciplinary report

"The policeman looked so cold and fed up standing there that I decided to cheer him up a bit." - After kissing a policeman on the pitch


Ron Atkinson (Manchester United)

Crimes:

- Broadcasting a racist rant about Marcel Desailly worldwide
- Managing to be a worse United manager than David Moyes
- Expelled from Celebrity Big Brother for another racist remark
- Eventually got to the stage of having a BBC interview titled Am I A Racist?

"...he [Desailly] is what is known in some schools as a ****ing lazy thick ******." - On Desailly

"How are they defensively, attacking-wise?" - In the commentary box

"They've certainly grown, the Japanese. I mean grown in stature, playing-wise." - Atkinson cannot help himself

“In some ways, cramp is worse than having a broken leg. But leukemia is worse still. Probably.” - And again

"I can't understand why there is such a population problem in China as they have the best contraception going: Chinese women are the ugliest in the world." - Again

“The 33 or 34-year-olds will be 36 or 37 by the time the next World Cup comes around, if they’re not careful.” - On aging

"You're not carrying a bomb wearing that towel on your head are you?" - To a housemate coming out of the shower in the Celebrity Big Brother house


Luis Suarez (Liverpool, Uruguay)

Crimes:

- Racially abused Patrice Evra, 8 match ban
- Sank teeth into Branislav Ivanovic, 10 match ban
- After being defended by Liverpool for previous two incidents, began to actively court Arsenal for a move
- Bit another guy at Ajax, 7 match ban
- Handballed off the line what would have been a decisive goal by Ghana in 2010 World Cup, 1 match ban
- Handballed a goal against Mansfield, FA Cup
- Prodigious diver

"He cheats, he dives, he hates the Jackson Five, Luis Suarez, Luis Suarez" - Chanting from the Kop stand at Anfield

"According to Evra's testimony, Suárez said in Spanish that he had earlier kicked Evra "because you are black", said "I don't speak to blacks" and used the word "negro" five times in total as they argued." - FA tribunal

"I made my own views clear, just as a dad watching the game, which is, I’ve got a seven-year-old son who loves football, loves watching football and when players behave like this it just sets the most appalling example to young people in this country." - David Cameron on the Ivanovic biting incident

----- "Some minister of something, I don't know what, said I don't know what about me, that Suarez is I don't know what to the kids, to his son. He should care for the English people, he should try to do his job. I won't ask for more forgiveness." - Suarez's response to Cameron

"You wonder, does he realise how rich it is that he has turned to one of the newspapers he previously blamed for everything? Or whether he particularly cares now it is increasingly transparent how far he is willing to go to get his move to Arsenal and that, next, lawyers will be involved and Liverpool face the ultimate indignity of being reported to the authorities by the player they have cherished and protected and defended, often to the point of ridicule." - The Guardian

“Why, black?” - Suarez to Evra, after Evra told him not to touch him

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Quite the parade of ****s in this one. I'll go for Friday, I think. Dodgy bastard before such things were cool.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Ha, a welcome Lazarus impersonation from LHC.

Has to be Suarez, this time. His all round utter wankeritude made all the more bittersweet by being such a wonderously blessed footballer.

 

[Johnners]

Friday

 

[GIMH]

Big Ron any by quite some distance

 

[Pothas]

Friday.

 

[Indipper]

Friday is quite hilarious and Atkinson would probably go through in most other cases. But Suarez has something about him that I've last seen from some Crroatian whose name escapes...

 

[Uppercut]

Really tough one. Going to have to go with Suarez.

 

[sledger]

Hmm, yes, very tricky.

Suarez though.

 

[grecian]

Big Racist Ron, mainly because all the neanderthals that carry on defending his comments, "just a bit of banter", "get it on the work-site all the time", "some players he signed were black" "I am actually a total ****-end".

Welcome back LHC, top poster, and your battles are always great

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Suarez