Is this the worst Premier League foul ever?

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Some fouls leave you wincing. Some are debatable. And some leave players with lasting damage. The Premier League is widely regarded as the most competitive league in the world, so naturally, there have been some hefty challenges. But which is the worst foul committed in the Premier League?
Seb Stafford-Bloor writes. Philippe Fenner.
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#EPL #PremierLeague

[@kunalgub]

Important to note, maybe that these aren't the worst injuries caused by a player on another. That would be David Busst, who in 1996 while fighting for a corner, collided with Denis Irwin and Brian Mclair. Extensive compound fractures to both the tibia and fibula of his right leg, severing almost all the tendons in his leg and resulting in 22 operations, he almost had his leg amputated. They had to clean the blood of the pitch before continuing....

[@danpreston564]

I had a David Busst leg injury in a car crash. Comparing my scars to his you can see how far surgical techniques inproved in the 13 years between Busst and me sustaining those injuries. I, too, almost had my leg amputated, but the clean and relatively neat nature of my scarring is so much better than Busst's.

[@Snookbone]

off

[@StoutProper]

Collided with? Was taken out by

[@Strafuzz]

@David Lim did he? I just remember him running away covering his eyes.

[@Strafuzz]

@@StoutProper it was a freak accident you clearly didn’t watch it

[@Red__Law]

Can't believe Ashley Williams kicking the ball at Robin van Persie didn't even make the list! Worst ever PL foul imo, he could've been killed.

[@rorybessell8280]

Hahaha wow, he's gone to boot the ball and it happened to hit Van Persie who was on the floor. It's a football, the likelihood of being seriously injured from someone kicking a football at you is pretty low, even when it is at the head

[@izzard12345]

@@rorybessell8280 doesn't get the reference :D

[@the.shazaib]

he couldve been killed

[@Jgray734]

@@rorybessell8280 you might want to go up to the search bar and look up 'he could have been killed'

[@rorybessell8280]

@@Jgray734 Yeah mate, note how I've already realised that 🤦

[@NavF1]

That Eduardo injury honestly might have changed history for Arsenal. Other fans, especially newer ones, might laugh at that when checking his statistics, but he was incredible. He was adapting very quickly as from December in a team that everyone loved to watch (there's a superb 07/08 comp on YT). The gruesome injury scarred that young team - Fabregas reportedly puked from seeing Eduardo's bones popping out. Arsenal was on course for at least one trophy, and maybe two or more. Who knows. Yes, ONE injury shouldn't shatter a team but again, they were all very young and became more scared on the pitch. In the next 2-3 weeks, Arsenal blew their chances for all 3 major trophies...

[@WHIPLASHVideosTBT]

IIRC Arsenal were top of the league by a couple of points when that Eduardo tackle happened

[@ocelotrevs]

I remember that. It completely destroyed our season. It was also the game that Gallas sat in the middle of the pitch and acted like a fool after the game.

[@_createusernamelater_6041]

You have a point, an older team comprised of experienced players would still be shocked by the injury, but wouldn’t have lost there nerve. A team of young players, whilst having a bit of experience had there nerve totally rocked and the idea in the back of there heads that “it could’ve been me”

[@WHIPLASHVideosTBT]

@@ocelotrevs i was gonna mention gallas having a meltdown as well but couldn't remember if it was that game or a couple of seasons afterwards...but yeah, that game ruined Arsenal's season.

[@DUNDOM5]

Eudardo injury also might have changed history for Croatian national football team for EURO 2008. Croatia was playing superb that tournament and with Eudardo in offense, Croatia might have won EURO that year.

[@gentleken7864]

Yes, let's be clear there is nothing more heartening than being booed for have your leg shattered by one of your own team's players. Stay classy Stoke.

[@SamGamll]

I'm surprised Callum McManaman's horror tackle on Haidara didn't make the list as he somehow escaped any form of punishment yet practically ruined Haidara's career

[@bathy94]

and then Dave Whelan calling the tackle 'clean as a whistle' - what a weapon

[@simonn2045]

Watched that live and couldn't believe it wasn't even a foul called. He wasn't a dirty player...

[@craigjohnson2301]

Disgusting challenge, swear the linesman was looking straight at it and didn’t even flag. We’ve been cursed by rubbish referring decisions.

[@jdogg448]

Was that the Newcastle left back Haidara??

[@badtotheappendixx]

that was hideous i couldn’t watch the replays, but i still think the david busst tackle is the worst

[@GabrielPowerful]

Yes! The second I saw the headline I immediately thought "Thatcher vs Mendes". I couldn't believe that challenge when I saw it, nor could I believe the ref giving a yellow, or Thatcher then berating both Johnson and the ref. What a tosser

[@dmore]

I thought the same. But it was no challenge, it was simply assault. Worst thing I've even seen on a football pitch by miles.

[@declync3085]

My thoughts exactly. If you done that on t he street. You’d end up in the jail

[@SouthseaBronx94]

Worst thing I’ve seen as a Pompey fan. It was mental

[@1alamby72]

Cowardly as well, totally blindsided and intended to do harm

[@mikemmotorsport]

Was at the game. Was disgusting.

[@moluther2826]

How many Arsenal players had their legs broken? "To play Arsenal you have to kick Arsenal"

[@srykextraodinairecreation9962]

Bc Arsenal always play beautiful football

[@davidmuoka3328]

Eduardo dislikes this comment🤣

[@AnotherAnonymousMan]

Could have included Abu Diaby who got his ankle snapped a couple of seasons before Eduardo.

[@jimmyf1446]

Good

[@jonathanidiagbonya6773]

Man U started this trend

[@lukexit]

Abu Diaby never played a full season again after Dan Smith's tackle. Diaby had the potential to be something like Yaya Toure's level in my opinion. This tackle also occurred weeks before Arsenal's only appearance in a Champions league final

[@1ewi5]

Abou Diaby was class before injuries haunt the rest of his career. It's a pity. He could have been as good as Vieira.

[@someguyfromarcticfreezer6854]

@@1ewi5 Vieira stated that Diaby had better potential than him.

[@powerplant.]

Whenever I started an Ipswich save on FM10, I would immediately release Ben Thatcher because of that incident. I was livid that we signed him irl.

[@RichO1701e]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@jdogg448]

Brilliant lol!

[@4g5y]

I had watched both those arsenal games live on TV and to this day I can recall the shock horror, during and after the game. the impact on both those arsenal players were massive and the team also didn't recover!! you know it's not good when they don't show the replay. severe retrospective punishment for such bad tackles is long over due!!! some idiots don't have the talent or brain for the beautiful game and they just resort to the so called 'physicality'. it's pathetic!!!

[@robertcampbell661]

was it after the Ramsey one where MOTD etc said they wouldn't show replays, and it's why we don't see the actual horror challenges anymore?

[@MichaelGGarry]

Only neither were bad tackles. Shawcross is clearly trying to kick the ball and in the Eudardo challenge he's slightly slow to the challenge and gets beaten by pace. Compare them to Keane and Thatcher and they aren't even in the same league.

[@PrehistoricPro]

@@MichaelGGarry I get what you're saying when you say they're 'not in the same league' as the Keane/Thatcher fouls. Keane and Thatcher set out to cause harm and that malice is obvious, whereas Taylor and Shawcross didn't necessarily. However, they're still most definitely bad tackles! Any challenge that is late, high, two-footed, doesn't win the ball, or has studs showing, etc. is a bad tackle and they both had at least one or two of those elements involved. Good tackles win the ball cleanly without breaking anyone's leg in the process!

[@tomboz777]

Taylor’s tackle was actually pretty tame, I was sitting meters away that day. Everyone was surprised it was even a foul including me, the ref wasn’t even gonna give a card till he saw the leg break - all of us were perplexed. Eduardo just had the beating of Taylor and tried to awkwardly tackle. Compare that to Roy Keane…very different.

[@olliewalton361]

Shawcross gets pushed into the tackle and Ramsey’s leg is literally broken before contact.

[@timdurgan]

I remember that Thatcher tackle at the time. He genuinely could have killed Mendes. Disgraceful foul.

[@Mclarenboy100]

The Ben Thatcher foul sticks in my mind. I remember watching it live on TV, and in my young, naive mind I legitimately thought I saw Pedro Mendes die. It was that horrific of not just a foul, but an assault.

[@MrBrynmair]

Definitely the worst one I have ever seen.

[@adamspimbly4706]

Yeah that foul always sticks in my mind too. I think what makes it worse is that a) it was completely deliberate, and that b) there didn't seem to be any provocation or instigating factor to prompt Thatcher to do it. It almost frightens me that you can charge at a player, assault him, send him into a seizure, and the football league essentially just say "okay, take a couple of months off" and it all be okay. Players capable of that should be banned from thegame

[@Miguel...160]

First thing i thought when i saw this vid

[@michaelcarney6280]

I classed it as an assault and not a foul.

[@williamthompson2941]

@@Miguel...160 Me Too

[@ashburn6139]

The Eduardo one definitely ranks up there high. A young Fabregas saw the horror in front of him accumulating from years of rough plays disregarded on Wenger's team. You get the Aaron Ramsdale and Abou Diaby injury as well. These types of career ending injuries should be very rare, maybe happens once to a team in 20 years' worth of probability. Against Wenger's team, the aggression was encouraged if you get to hear the pundits commenting back then.

[@elliotg25]

The Eduardo one doesn't rank that high for worst fouls, it was just an awful result. Taylor was going for the ball, one-footed, but was just so slow and heavy that it resulted in a bad leg break. Elbows and two-footed lunges which are out to cause harm are much worse in my opinion.

[@evilotis01]

Aaron Ramsey, y'mean

[@davidb5173]

The Eduardo one wasn’t an aggressive foul. It was just a terrible outcome

[@btb3614]

What comes to mind for me is Abou Diaby’s severe ankle fracture after a disgusting tackle from Sunderland defender Dan Smith. Arsenal were 3 - 0 up with a minute to go, and for Smith to go sliding in studs up was nothing but malicious. Smith destroyed Diaby’s career and may have cost Arsenal a Champions League title.

[@tomdip2094]

Diaby was such a baller. Lanky, yet graceful and powerful, like Yaya Toure. Sad how few people outside of Arsenal supporters know what his quality/potential was.

[@kunalgub]

Very good shout.....Diaby was an exception talent and a lost career

[@610vegas]

exactly what I was thinking. arsenal went through a 6 six year period where their players got kick to death from reyes, ramsey, wilshire,diaby, van persie eduardo allot ending up with career ending injuries when Wenger moaned about the treatment to his players people mocked him even radio stations said some pretty xenophobic things towards him and arsenal got a rep for not liking the physical game and being gutless.

[@eddysandland58]

I'm a Liverpool fan but I used to Rate Diaby too! Class Man 🔥

[@tomdip2094]

@@610vegas In fairness, even as a Gunner, I think we brought it upon ourselves to a degree (although that doesn't excuse some of horrendous tackles to suffered). Wenger-ball was a very technical style of play, and Wenger seemed to prioritise technical ability over physical dominance starting in the mid-2000s. The result was great players, but we often failed to intimidate our opponents, hence they would take liberties. The didn't get away with it before when we had figures like Keown and Viera in the team.

[@wmyates17]

I was there for the Martin Taylor one and in real time we weren’t entirely sure what had happened because it was obviously late but didn’t contain much power, it was only when we saw replays at home that we understood what had happened. It was a bad tackle and the result of Martin Taylor being maybe the slowest footballer I’ve ever seen play for my team.

[@tomboz777]

Was in the tilton. Taylor’s tackle was actually pretty tame, I was sitting meters away that day. Everyone was surprised it was even a foul including me, the ref wasn’t even gonna give a card till he saw the leg break - all of us were perplexed. Eduardo just had the beating of Taylor and tried to awkwardly tackle.

[@wmyates17]

@@tomboz777 I was in the Tilton too, ive always described this tackle as the result of one man being far too quick for another man to handle. I do think that had he not broken his leg, Taylor wouldn’t have been sent off cause it just looked like a slightly clumsy and late challenge to everyone

[@redux0]

Nonsense. Studs up sliding challenge after the ball was long gone. Guaranteed to cause injury.

[@davidb5173]

@@redux0 I was there as well, I promise you it was just a speed issue. Martin Taylor is not in the same category as some of these other thugs

[@ControlDesigns]

Neil Lennon headbutting Alan Shearer's foot. Disgraceful

[@jumhed994]

Actual lol

[@andrewjolly319]

I mean we were all waiting for Ben Thatcher right.

[@adamhafiddin9564]

If we talk outside PL, there's one foul that comes to my mind. Axel Witsel stomping Wacilewski. Its an absolute horror footage and should've been watched with caution.

[@lonestarr1490]

Just the google images are enough for me... People, I adjure you, do not look this up.

[@michaelscott7166]

Toni Schumacher on Patrick Battiston in the 1982 World Cup Semi Final and Leonardo on Tab Ramos at the 1994 World Cup were both appalling also.

[@JS-xr5vw]

Is this the one where Wasileski is sliding in near the touchline? If so - yes that one was pretty horrendous

[@tonguelessghostofsin]

That's sickening. He practically smashes his ankle

[@sonder0001]

I never saw the Aaron Ramsey injury until now. I nearly passed out from watching that video because to me it's unbearable to watch and understand the severity of the injury... I am still in shock of how terrible that looked

[@Prederick]

I'd totally forgotten about Thatcher's elbow until you mentioned it. If you haven't seen it... yeah, I think it's worthy of being The Worst Foul in the Premier League.

[@robertcampbell661]

I remember watching it at the time at 18 and thinking wow, he's going to be banned for the season. I was shocked he only got 8 games. Considering some bans nowadays for much less. I think Ben got away almost scot free

[@MichaelGGarry]

His prior elbow on Nicky Summerbee was a damn disgrace too.

[@lenniet]

From the reaction of Mendy yesterday..... it has to be Bowen's 'assault' on him in the build up to West Ham's dissallowed equaliser.

[@Tom-wy5up]

The referees allowed a culture of assault on Arsenal's players under Wenger, a culture that went largely unpunished and was often encouraged by a complicit media as the best way to stop the young side. Yes when legs were literally snapped in two players did get sent off but many Arsenal players were subjected to similar assaults that went completely unpunished as they were "lucky" enough to escape with only minor injuries. Abou Diaby should also be in this list, an assault on him effectively ended his career as a top player sadly.

[@tartalja]

One former referee admitted in his autobiography that he would let opposing teams to be rougher against Arsenal players. Cant remember the name.

[@johnmitchell2269]

Yet that didn't happen when Arsenal had an all English back four

[@tonguelessghostofsin]

Ironic then that Wenger's early Arsenal sides had a litany of red cards, to the point he was questioned about whether he could control his own players. How the tables turned

[@langzhi1873]

I don’t think any of the punishment in these cases was enough

[@andyarmstrong1175]

It's got to be the animal Mings on Nelson Oliveira and later on ibrahimovich he should never have been allowed to play football at any level ever again. Check it out for the full horror!

[@BabsW]

Some of these fouls were actually assaults that should've been punished in court

[@arshavindrameh32]

The only way to stop Arsène Wenger young side was to hurt them ,that’s how hard it was playing vs Arsenal tikitaka

[@davidandrew7314]

They didn't play tikitaka back then.

[@TattyBojangles81]

The correct term is wengerball

[@Harray97]

Tiki taka getting used VERY loosely here

[@trudeausbackbone1304]

Don't forget Thatcher's horrendous elbow on Nicky Summerbee some years before the Mendez incident.

[@youngdolo8]

Is that the elbow shown in the thumbnail?

[@trudeausbackbone1304]

@@youngdolo8 Yeah. It was even worse than the Mendez incident in my opinion.

[@JetFuelCantMeltAutismVaccines]

I think Sunderlands Dan Smiths often overlooked tackle on Abou Diaby in 05/06 deserves a mention. To me its the worst foul because of the game state, as it happens when Arsenal are leading 0-3 away to Sunderland in additional time. Its pure malice and revenge for a perceived sporting humiliation. Unlike other challenges in this video, Smiths tackle is most easily defined as career ending as well.

[@NavF1]

I'd say Taylor on Eduardo was even more "career-ending" because Eduardo just never recovered to his previous level. Diaby, when fit, could still play extremely well like sometimes in the 07/08 season or that one match against Liverpool in 2012 I think

[@TheRadPlayer]

That is the exact time a team should be making tackles, though. Without chance of rescuing a point from a match, the aim should be to cost the opposing team in different areas, such as depth and development of players.

[@JetFuelCantMeltAutismVaccines]

@@NavF1 Eduardo, though not as good, managed to stay fit for a while. Diaby never did.

[@davidfiggins16]

Surprised Jonny Evans' tackle on Stuart Holden didn't figure in this. Ruined Holden's career and sent Bolton on a downwards spiral that they still haven't recovered from.

[@GazC-qt6lh]

Unbelievable that's not in, was a shocking tackle. It ruined Holdens career, he was one of the best midfielders in the premier league at the time. All down hill fir Bolton after that as well. Hated Evan's every since

[@A-R-17]

Ben Thatcher on Pedro Mendes wasn't a tackle. It was assault.

[@LCFC81]

Alan Shearer kicking Neil Lennon in the face and not even receiving retroactive punishment due to threatening to cry off England duty.

[@1ewi5]

Best thing that ever happened.

[@ElliotGallagher4321]

Can’t believe the Jonny Evans shocker on Stuart Holden isn’t on this list.

[@LP290792]

Not in the same league as any of these incidents

[@Csnich96]

@@LP290792 it is. He ended that poor kids career

[@jockmackay9582]

@@LP290792 didn't see it then?

[@NewWorldOrderFAIL]

Diaby, Eduardo and Ramsey-Arsenal were seriously unlucky in that period 06-10. All three suffered serious, career altering injuries. Ramsey was the only one who recovered but I don’t think he ever became as good as he could’ve. Diaby became an injury crock. Eduardo, that injury prevented us from winning PL

[@albertotorres7746]

David Luiz on Raul Jimenez. It was an accident that could've been avoided if Luiz wouldn't have been so careless. He had no opportunity of even touching the ball, but preferred to still risk it.

[@mateo1726]

You could do a whole video on Stuart Holdens broken legs and knees from two tackles by Jonny Evans and Nigel de Jongs in successive games following his recovery

[@MSeaNP]

Luc Nilis' entire career flashed away in that Ipswich Town clash.

[@jaysongabler591]

Dan Smith's foul on Abou Diaby should've been included. Oddly enough, he was playing semi-pro football here in Brisbane a few years ago.

[@rodrigofonseca6241]

He's a Thatcher, do you expect something good out of a Thatcher?!

[@thewildformosanformosan]

If the ref treated Arsene Wenger's side the same way they treated Man Utd, Arsenal would have won 50% more trophies during the Wenger era

[@RichO1701e]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Keep telling yourself that pal. Delusional.

[@johnrockyryan]

Thats what im trying to say

[@JR-sj1jz]

By the way despite always been told that games cannot be "re-refereed" and that a referee's decision is final, Thatcher was suspended for the foul despite being given a yellow card. Goes to show the hypocritical nature of those who head the game and they make up these rules as they go along. It shouldn't matter how they referee or VAR viewed certain fouls. If they are red card worthy, the FA or PL or whichever disciplinary board handles such things should be able to upgrade fouls to red card. I'm thinking of the recent hair pull on Cucurella and Pickford tackle on Van Dijk. Both the referee and VAR clearly erred. Mike Dean even admitted so.

[@tonguelessghostofsin]

I don't disagree with the sentiment, but the differences is that in other cases there is a ball to be won, so plausible deniability from the player. Thatcher's was clearly assault after the fact

[@tdyerwestfield]

Pickford tackle on Van Dijk that wasn't even given as a foul despite being clearly onside and Van Dijk missing 11 months due to ACL and MCL tear.

[@stevencooke6451]

I lost all respect for Pickford after that. No on-field punishment made it worse.

[@bushmonster1702]

He looks like a dope and plays like one.

[@daveoaktowers]

Thatcher's elbow is sickening as it is totally uncalled for. Ball going out of play, but he decides at full sprint from some distance to lead in with his elbow into Mendes.

[@stevencooke6451]

Typical gutless move from the vile Thatcher.

[@andrelgeant3038]

Vinny Jones lovingly squeezing the twin Gazzas.

[@maxadams2878]

Dan smith on Abou Diaby is the worst in my opinion. Was at the end of a 3-0 game and it ruined the career of one of the most promising midfielders in the world. After that he struggled to get on the pitch and was constantly injured.

[@MichaelGGarry]

A slightly mis-timed tackle by a young kid. You can't judge the "worst" on injury alone - accidents happen.

[@romancandle416]

Definitely Thatcher on Mendes. I think you can actually hear a clicking sound when Thatcher breaks his jaw. And it was only a yellow!

[@stevencooke6451]

Ref should have been banned too. Though given the low quality of some EPL officials not that surprising.

[@philpieper2799]

How have you missed Ashley Williams attempted assassination of Van Persie? ‘He could have been killed’

[@notyourfriend1634]

It would be interesting to have a video looking at the most famous 8 game bans and looking at the reasons for them

[@SPenrose1987]

Even as a spurs fan, Son's foul on Gomez still gives me nightmares

[@1ewi5]

There wasn't any bad intent in that tackle. It wasn't malicious, it wasn't personal, it wasn't two-footed. It was a normal tackle but Gomes fell awkwardly towards Son's team mates (can't recall who) causing the leg break.

[@someguyfromarcticfreezer6854]

@@1ewi5 Son fully went to Gomez leg but he do harder than he wanting to do and broke Gomez's leg. Son was a malicious in Bundesliga, that Bruce lee Bruce leed everyone, he was a dirty player and still is.

[@redux0]

There’s an entire chauvinistic culture of the English hard man that produced this kind of foul. Pundits and managers etc are as much to blame

[@johnmitchell2269]

Greame Souness, Neil Ruddock, Julien Dicks, Vinny Jones and Roy Keane.

[@andygarrod5611]

@@johnmitchell2269 be a bit nervous facing these in the 5 a side league.

[@Oliverc94]

Honourable mention for Callum McManaman on Massadio Haidara. Should have been banned for life.

[@jockmackay9582]

Calm down come lord

[@rorckaa]

miguel britos for watford is absolutely the worst. he looked as his ankles, and slid. didnt look at the ball once. dont think anything else even come close

[@sij748]

Roy Keane’s foul on Alf-Inge Haaland is arguably the worst tackle as there was visible intent to do harm and injure the player. Yes, in terms of outcomes there have been tackles with more severe injuries such as broken legs and ankles; nevertheless, there was overt malice from Keane to seriously injure Haaland.

[@Pingwinho]

Yep, it should have gone to court

[@MichaelGGarry]

Don't forget Keanes original tackle that started it all off - he got injured trying to injure Haaland in the first place.

[@barryb90]

Jon Fashanu's tackles were intended to injure were a million times worse. Keane didn't even injure him.

[@barryb90]

@@Pingwinho It did go to court, Haaland lost.

[@andyhills9972]

I still fear for Rivaldo after he was viciously assaulted by the football in the match vs Turkey at the 2002 World Cup.

[@SirUnaiEmery]

Thatcher - pedro mendes forearm smash

[@nathski22]

Came here to say exactly this

[@DemonetisedZone]

When you are watching a game the aggressiveness and stupidity at times does seem unbelievable It is the ones with obvious malevolent intent that turn my stomach and sometimes you can plainly see the players have been told by the manager to 'leave something on'

[@rohanmunshi981]

Any foul committed on Bruno Fernandes.

[@eman472]

Dan Smith on Diaby was another really bad foul. Too many Arsenal players have been on the receiving end of bad tackles because "Arsenal don't like it up em".

[@fahadnasarullah1013]

Because of that stupidity that went on "To play Arsenal you have to kick Arsenal"

[@jurerajk7686]

Foul on Eduardo by Taylor is by far worst ever.Considering what a player Eduardo can become it adds extra on it.

[@captianyaw1326]

In my opinion Petre Cech head injury during the 2006/2007 campaign by Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt was gruesome and should have been considered.

[@RichO1701e]

Completely different. There was no malice, it was a genuine attempt to win the ball. Those ones on this list showed intent to deliberately hurt the opposing player

[@salhjasa]

Even though is not from the Premier League the worst fault I remember was from Javi Navarro (Sevilla player) to Juan Arango (Mallorca player) he caused him a brain traumatism due to an elbow to his head. Arango was even close to die and Navarro only got a yellow card and a 5 game suspention for it.

[@martinjasper7650]

Joey Bartons attack on Aguero, Balotelli and the rest of the Man City players.

[@CharlieHolmesT]

Yeah I'm surprised that wasn't here.

[@yt.personal.identification]

I will still go with Keane. He premeditated that, literally for a LONG time, and has even admitted as such. Still no remorse.

[@TheSWCantina]

Not even remotely close

[@richardprocter8012]

The one that comes to my mind would have to be the sickening challenge on Hartem Ben Arfa by Nigel De Jong (Newcastle v Man City). I don’t know why this isn’t included in one of the reason Ben Arfa wasn’t able to reach his potential. He was flying before this “challenge”

[@MartinParnham]

A few challenges from De Jong could be on this list.

[@charlesphilips2045]

Remember that time John Terry got kicked in the head and passed out during that game against Arsenal? I was genuinely scared for him.

[@tgmartin]

In Diaby's defence, he took the term 'kick racism out of football' literally

[@Makwayne]

The worst foul is United beating Liverpool.

[@ssaahil]

🤣

[@TheAaronJP]

Come to my Sunday league side. We've been attacked by dogs, off road motorbikes, the ref, and with roundhouse kicks. Yes, while on the pitch.

[@bmbm1]

The fact that you can tackle someone, break their leg and destroy their career forever and be allowed to play again is disgusting

[@MichaelGGarry]

Its a contact sport played at high speed and accidents happen. None of those leg breaks were anything else than an accident.

[@bmbm1]

@@MichaelGGarry It's reckless disregard for potential injuries you could cause to the opponent

[@F1Krazy]

The way 0:44 to 0:51 is worded makes it sounds like Arsene Wenger and Sepp Blatter were sending Martin Taylor death threats, which for some reason is a hilarious mental image

[@14nst3w4rt]

Has to be Roy Keanes tack on Haaland as this was pre-meditated and he actually waited a couple of seasons to get his "revenge". Most of the others were violent 'red mists' in the moment.

[@man4437]

I mean, it was intentional but it wasn't even serious enough to end the game for Haaland if I'm not wrong

[@celtic69]

@@cold_servo_pie nope, it was his other knee that was injured and ended his career. In the clip you can even see his other knee is bandaged and the reason he lost his lawsuit against Roy was because he’d openly spoken on forums saying how he was struggling to play due to knee issues on the other knee. The “Keane ended his career” is a myth.

[@TheSWCantina]

@@cold_servo_pie he didn't end his career.

[@icemanire5467]

Jon Fashanu's premeditated elbow to Gary Mabbutt's face was far worse. Haaland got up and finished the game and played for Norway a few days after. Mabbutt ended up in hospital with a fractured skull.

[@barra6709]

It obviously wasn't nice, but it's like Chinese whispers, it's grown a myth of it's own. It didn't even injure Haaland let alone end his career. You've had the likes of Rudock break two of Andy Cole's legs and laugh about it that are worse.

[@peterstabler2321]

Roy Keane should have gone to jail for his "tackle" on Haaland.

[@aran7teen]

The broken bones are some of the most gut wrenching. The Eduardo one was awful as you caught a brief moment of his leg really not looking like a leg anymore. The shawcross tackle was even worse because you felt it yourself as he went in with so much force, plus there was the sound of the impact. But as much as those made you feel instantly sick, seeing Pedro mendes go flying then convulsing was terrifying. When I first saw it I thought I’d just seen a man die.

[@Murdocke89]

I’d say Roy Keane’s on Haaland is the worst as he admitted it was premeditated payback for when he was injured by him in a previous game.

[@yt.personal.identification]

I agree. Totally premeditated, and still no remorse.

[@Murdocke89]

@@yt.personal.identification indeed, and I like Roy Keane but that doesn’t excuse the fact he ended a guy’s career as payback. Yeah fair enough the other guy kinda deserved it but it still happened.

[@icemanire5467]

@@Murdocke89 he didn't end his career first of all. Keane hit his right thigh, it was his left knee that ended his career. An injury that he was carrying a long time before that game and after it. There's been far worse premeditated instances like Jon Fashanu's to elbow Gary Mabbutt's face.

[@notyourfriend1634]

It just shows how bad the refs are for them to only give a yellow card for the worst foul in premier league history

[@jdogg448]

The restraint from Pedro Mendes to not slaughter Thatcher in their next game against each other must have been incredible.

[@lukesmith8813]

I can still visualise the Thatcher foul on Mendes like it was yesterday.

[@bremnersghost948]

The Thatcher Elbow was a more Vicious Assault than the Duncan Ferguson Headbutt that saw him Jailed. Proper Dirty!!

[@rosscowan666]

Fodens haircut has to be up there.

[@NathanMUFCfan]

Thatcher on Mendes is the worst 'challenge' I've ever seen on a football pitch. Well, it's actually assault. I think he should have been arrested for assault. Absolutely disgusting thing to do. The challenge on Eduardo was also shocking. I remember watching that game live and seeing it. You could see how much that injury affected the players. The game was being played at a walking pace after it.

[@shesh32]

Dinosaur Pickford's scissor cut challenge on Van Dijk has to be there in the list. He pretty much single handedly destroyed Liverpool's season.

[@RichO1701e]

Excellent

[@emulus4000]

The Shawcross on Ramsay one was a badly timed tackle rather than a vicious tackle. The ref gave him a red just because of how Ramsay looked on the ground, not the actual tackle

[@amateurcameraman]

Are goalkeepers so protected that everyone has forgotten what Mark Bosnich did to Jurgen Klinsmann??!!

[@FlapjackGTHD]

Mendes is a better man than me shaking his hand

[@chrisgoblin4857]

Brings back memories of Callum McManaman ending Haidara's career.

[@bathy94]

To be fair Haidara is now arguably at his peak with Lens, dreadful tackle though

[@torqueRxF]

For all people who seem to idolize so called *real* footballers..... Football implies snatching the ball from the other player's feet, not pounding it out.

[@tgmartin]

I'll always remember how the media fell over themselves to make St. Ryan 'He's not that type of player' Shawcross out to be the real victim, even though he had form for injuring players. I'm sure they wouldn't have been the same if he'd injured Rooney or Kane in their prime

[@olliewalton361]

You’ve completely made that up. It was literally the opposite.

[@Ese96Agoaye]

Away from the Premier League, how on earth did Nigel De Jong come away with only a booking with what's essentially a karate kick on Xabi Alonso at the 2010 World Cup final?

[@stevencooke6451]

When Howard Webb was refereeing anything was possible. How that incompetent tw** got to officiate a final says a lot about FIFA and its standards.

[@Tony.L9793]

no VAR that time, if VAR existed those days it could be a red

[@fahadnasarullah1013]

@@Tony.L9793 Without the VAR even you could see that it was a straight red...I watched that final live and I was quite surprised that how did Nigel de Jong got away with that...

[@Tony.L9793]

@@fahadnasarullah1013 referee too lenient

[@gandalf_thegrey]

The worst foul in PL and in football overall was the dude that got his leg broken a gazillion times on purpose, about 10 seconds after the game started. Can't remember the name. Or team. Just that is was England, and bro was out really really really long

[@taufiqutomo]

Indonesian league's worst foul: a kick by Denny Tarkas straight to Jumadi Abdi's stomach, yellow card, victim did not survive after being hospitalised. Edit: eventually the perpetrator was suspended for four months, but i personally feel it was still unjust.

[@thegreathadoken6808]

Not the PL but the worst foul I ever seen was Schumacher on Batiston, World Cup 82. Batiston cracked several vertibrae and. fell unconscious; The ref never even gave a free kick.

[@PirateDrive]

Foul implies some attempt at taking the ball and trying to make a tackle, what Thatcher did was assault.

[@1dmartini]

Think you need to throw the Dan Smith "challenge" on Abou Diaby into the mix. Lots of horrific fouls on Arsenal players in the mid-2000s because they were seen as "soft".

[@1dmartini]

Interestingly, same ref involved with this game as the City vs. Portsmouth game: Dermot Gallagher.

[@harleymilner3189]

In the immediacy it might not have made a difference but I do think that Harry Kanes attempt to tackle Robertson last season highlights a major issue with the game going forward. An inability to recognise the dangerous and reckless tackles of the games that fortunately didn't result in career ending injuries does little to reassure me that VAR and the officials are working cohesively and correctly

[@jdosser]

I'm gonna have to go with Stephen Hunt's tackle on Petr Čech during the 2006/2007 season. He's still hated by Chelsea fans to this day for that tackle, it nearly killed Čech as the tackle fractured his skull and there was a lot of discussion from both sides with some people siding with Chelsea who was calling for Hunt to be banned and others siding with Hunt. MPs got involved in the discussion, with Hunt getting death threats from Chelsea fans. Čech meanwhile had to wear protective headgear for the rest of his football career. I think that not just the tackle itself, but also the aftermath from it (both the damage caused and the response) should have at least gotten a mention

[@aaropajari7058]

Early 70s Leeds...every tackle.

[@ashf4612]

Poor old Pedro. Gets walloped by thatcher and scores a goal at old Trafford from half way line . Only for it to be not given as it didn’t nestle in the net long enough for the referee to give a goal .

[@RichMitch]

Thatcher's elbow was absolutely sickening

[@Haobey]

3:05 anticipating this one the whole time. Unbelievable. Such vivid memories of this one. Shocking.

[@thelordpizzaman3461]

Might as well add Mason Holgate to the list, how Mitoma's leg didn't snap is a miracle

[@gerardmoran]

I hate the tone that is given to sentences like "Amazingly, he was only given a yellow card". As if it's an act of God decision. It just highlights how awful the officiating is in this country, and it is unacceptable.

[@jamespendleton1878]

Mendes then got done by Joey Barton that same season in the reverse fixture and was out for months..