Serving Time

Punishment befitting the crime

So there it is, La Liga officials have doled out a ten-match ban to Real Madrid’s Pepe following his mindless assault on Getafe’s Javi Casquero. The ban is the longest ever imposed on a Real player.

Debates have already begun concerning the length of the punishment with manager Juande Ramos expressing his intention to appeal. Though Pepe’s ban for assault is amongst the longest penalties dished out by football officials over the years, the devilish deeds of the following three ‘professionals’ make Pepe’s act of shame look pale in comparison.

Ben Thatcher floors Pedro Mendes

Ben Thatcher – In 2006, Manchester City’s Thatcher, completely unprovoked, knocked Portsmouth’s Pedro Mendes unconscious with a vicious elbow to the face. Mendes required oxygen on the pitch and Thatcher was given an eight-match ban, fined six weeks wages and given a fifteen match ban suspended for two seasons.

Augustin Binya – During a Champions League match in 2007, Benfica’s Binya stamped his right foot on to the  knee of Celtic midfielder Scott Brown. Though Brown miraculously escaped serious injury, Binya received a red card and a six-match European ban. Referee Martin Hansson later said it was the worst foul he had ever witnessed.

Roy Keane – Who could forget his horror tackle on Alf-Inge Haaland? The  United midfielder’s knee-high challenge signaled the end of the Norwegian’s career. Keane initially received a three-match ban and £150,000 fine for his crime. However, after Keane revealed that the tackle was a premeditated act of vengeance for an injury he sustained a season earlier while again trying to foul Haaland, a further five-match suspension was dished out.