• Top Tens: Sporting meltdowns

Top Tens: Sporting meltdowns

Eric Cantona launched a kung-fu kick at Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons © Getty Images

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Following Gennaro Gattuso's confrontations with Joe Jordan in Milan's Champions League clash with Spurs, we look at other sportsmen who have lost their cool in the heat of battle...

Eric Cantona
Cantona was engulfed by red mist during Manchester United's match at Crystal Palace during the 1994/5 season. After being sent off for kicking out at Richard Shaw, the Frenchman leapt into a kung-fu kick that was directed towards Palace fan Matthew Simmons. Cantona was slapped with a £30,000 fine and banned from football for nine months, dealing a significant blow to United's pursuit of the Premier League crown, which would eventually wind up in Blackburn's hands. Graham Kelly, the FA chief executive of the time, described Cantona's actions as "a stain on our game".

John Drummond
"I did not move, I did not move." That was Drummond's plea to athletics officials in 2003 but, unfortunately for the American sprinter, his protests fell on deaf ears. During the second quarter-final of the men's 100m at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, Drummond was disqualified for two false starts. After jumping about hysterically and repeating to officials he had not moved, Drummond took matters into his own hands by lying down in his lane and refusing to budge. To make matters worse, the big screen in the stadium showed replays of the start of the race and it appeared Drummond's remonstrations were justified - although the footage failed to show that his right foot had indeed jolted in the blocks. Consequently, Drummond found support among the 72,000 spectators, with cheers and claps going in his direction. The race was subsequently delayed for almost an hour and, when it did finally get underway, Drummond was nowhere to be seen and Ato Boldon was victorious.

Goran Ivanisevic
It was a case of third time unlucky for Ivanisevic at the Samsung Open in 2000. The big-serving Croat was forced to withdraw from his second-round match against Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee because he had run out of rackets after smashing them all in a fit of rage. He was given a code violation for equipment abuse during his first outburst after Lee broke him to take a 6-5 lead in the opening set. Things went from bad to worse at the start of the third set when he wasted break points at 1-1, leaving an irate Ivanisevic to take his anger out on a second racket. A double fault in the following game sparked another eruption and his final racket received the same treatment as the previous two. With no more in the bag, Ivanisevic was unable to continue - the first time this had happened at a senior ATP event.

Mike Tyson developed a taste for Evander Holyfield's ear in June 1997 © Getty Images

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Mike Tyson
Everything about Tyson screamed impetuousness during his June 1997 clash with Evander Holyfield, which was his chance to gain revenge for a resounding defeat the previous year. Tyson came out swinging, hunting the one-punch finale, while Holyfield carried a more calculated approach, looking to play the longer game with a series of cutting combinations. In the third round, Tyson's frustration turned to rage, causing him to spit out his mouthpiece and take a bite out of Holyfield's right ear. Incredibly, the fight wasn't called off at that point - not referee Mills Lane's finest hour - and Tyson would go on to repeat the trick, causing a disqualification. It was the first significant slip in Tyson's long fall from the summit of boxing.

Martina Hingis
When Hingis was 18 she had already claimed five grand slam titles. Significantly, however, none of these included the French Open and, in 1999, the young Swiss suffered a humiliating meltdown as she lost her second final at Roland Garros. Things were looking so good for Hingis - almost too good, in fact. Serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, lifting the trophy seemed a formality - until her nerves took over. The signs had been there all match; Hingis had repeatedly battled with the umpire and linesmen over certain calls, which led to a point deduction and jeers from a partisan crowd. With the title in her grasp, Hingis completely capitulated and Steffi Graf took full advantage. Sulking, Hingis took a bathroom break early in the final set and then proceeded to deliver underarm serves, twice, on match point. Graf prevailed, claiming a sixth French Open crown, and Hingis ran off sobbing before the presentations, although she did return, alongside her mum, for the trophy ceremony.

Oliver McCall
Lennox Lewis was knocked out by McCall in their first encounter in 1994 but, three years later, the American suffered a bizarre breakdown in the ring, leaving Lewis to regain his WBC heavyweight title in the strangest of scenarios. McCall looked like he fancied his chances after an impressive second round but then, for no apparent reason, he completely lost interest, preferring instead to wander round the ring smiling and inviting Lewis to launch an attack. His bizarre tactics continued and, after he was reduced to tears at the end of the fourth, McCall was disqualified at the beginning of the fifth by referee Mills Lane for refusing to fight back. "For a few seconds I did half-believe he was trying to con me," said Lewis after the fight. "But then I saw his eyes and they weren't the eyes of a fighter... and the tears were pouring down his cheeks."

Dustin Johnson carded an 82 on the final day of the 2010 US Open © Getty Images

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Dustin Johnson
The circumstances were perfect for Johnson to underline his status as the hottest prospect in American golf by clinching the US Open title. He entered the final day at Pebble Beach - a track that had brought him victories on two occasions - with a three-shot lead, having gone 71-70-66 across the opening three rounds. But instead of maintaining his composure, Johnson imploded over his last 18 holes, carding an ugly 82 that caused him to finish a tie for eighth. A triple-bogey at the third hinted at the impending disaster, and the American was unable to clamber out of the hole he found himself in.

Nelson Piquet
Piquet's rage at Eliseo Salazar did nothing to improve the uneasy relationship between frontrunners and backmarkers in Formula One. Piquet was leading the 1982 German Grand Prix when he approached Salazar, who was languishing well down the field, with the intention of slipping past smoothly. He slowed down, hoping that Salazar would return the favour and move aside - but he failed to do so, prompting a collision that wiped both out of the race. Piquet, blinded by fury, sprang from his car and punched Salazar twice in the head - he aimed a kick too, but that one missed - before being restrained.

Zinedine Zidane
Zidane's last moments on the football pitch were memorable for all the wrong reasons. In extra time of the 2006 World Cup final, the France legend - playing in his final match before retirement - headbutted Marco Materazzi when the scores were tied at 1-1. Zidane, who claimed that the Italy defender had insulted his mother and sister, remained unrepentant when subsequently asked if he regretted the incident. "I would rather have taken a punch in the jaw than have heard that," he said. To compound Zidane's misery, Italy would go on to win the match in a penalty shootout, with Materazzi a focal point of their jubilant celebrations.

John McEnroe
Few will forget McEnroe's infamous outburst during Wimbledon in 1981. During his first-round match against Tom Gullikson, McEnroe became incensed when umpire Ted James said his shot went out. "You cannot be serious" was McEnroe's reply - a phrase that has since become synonymous with the tennis great - and he went on to call James "the pits of the world" as the red mist descended. The incident didn't appear to faze him, however, as he went on to beat Bjorn Borg in the final to claim his first Wimbledon title.

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