European Championships, impulsive players and fines

20 June, 2012

In European Championships there have been several incidents, which have brought shame to the game. Though in some of these incidents, players have been fined, some of them have not. Here are some infamous incidents of the past in the European Championships, which have made the game look, 'not so beautiful.'

THE COST of Nicklas Bendtner's underwear, which he was wearing while playing against Portugal in Aviv, sky rocketed to USD 126,000 after his controversial goal celebration act. The player has been fined the above amount for showing his underwear after scoring a goal against Portugal. The disciplinary conduct panel of UEFA found this celebration to be improper, so the player has had to pay a hefty fine. Bendtner is expected to appeal against the decision.

This is not for the first time that such acts have been committed by football players or teams in a European Championship. There have been many instances where the beautiful game football was besmirched. The authorities had to intervene and take strict measures with the player or the team associated with it. But it is not always necessary that the player is fined or suspended. Sometimes, the situation may not be highlighted at all.

During the 1992 European championships, the game between France and England was a controversial one, where no goal was scored. But it was Basile Boli who headbutted the English defender, Stuart Peace. Fortunately, for the French player, there was no punishment given to the player for his outrageous act.

It was during the same championships of 1992 that the English team needed a victory over Sweden. The score read 1-1 during the game. At this juncture, the English coach, Graham Taylor brought off Gary Lineker, which was unexpected, as he was just one goal short of Bobby Charlton’s record. Gary, at the time, was the best man who could help England win the match too, he was off the pitch. Hence, he has been called 'turnip' by the press for his substitution.

After the Netherlands defeated West Germany in the 1988 championships, one of their players, Ronald Koeman exchanged shirts with a player and pretended as if to clean his back with the jersey. This had in fact brought the game into disrepute - still, the player was let off without any fine.

Looking at these incidents, one has to say that the game has become more strict in imposing fines. They do not take nonsense from any player nowadays, as was witnessed during the fine imposed for Bendtner's underwear act. Had anyone committed such act during the 1980s, he might have been let off.

The European Championships have witnessed some controversies in the past. There is no reason for us to get surprised with the number of off-field incidents that have been making the headlines in Euro 2012.