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Throwing a sporting tantrum

James Hunt's flamboyant off-track lifestyle was the stuff of legend © Getty Images

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After Southend United defender Bilel Mohsni lost his cool having been shown a red card, we thought we'd take a look at the other sportsmen who have been unable to stop rage taking over...

James Hunt (Click link to watch video)
Hunt's irritability had been obvious throughout the 1977 season as he struggled to scale the heights that had taken him to the drivers' championship title the year before. Plagued by the unreliability of his McLaren, he had already surrendered the title to Niki Lauda ahead of the penultimate grand prix in Canada. At that race, Hunt was sent ploughing into the catch netting at 100mph after botching a move to lap his team-mate Jochen Mass. As Hunt clambered out of the car, rather than head towards safety behind the barriers, he angrily walked towards the track. A marshal tried to gently restrain him, but Hunt turned and felled him with a crisp right hook. Realising what he had done, Hunt was immediately remorseful but, wisely, the marshal swiftly sought safety himself.

Sergio Garcia
Playing in his last tournament before taking a two-month break, Garcia's temper snapped at the 2010 US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. The Spaniard, who needed to win the tournament to have any chance of making the European Ryder Cup team, took his rage out on a bunker on the first day after looping a dismal approach shot out of the sand. A first-round 78 ended his hopes of making the weekend, although he did recover with a creditable 69 the following day.

Paolo di Canio
Although Di Canio's tendency to produce the unexpected was well-known, he still managed to send shockwaves through football when he shoved referee Paul Alcock to the turf in 1999. After a clash between Sheffield Wednesday's Petter Rudi and Patrick Vieira of Arsenal prompted a melee involving both sets of players, Di Canio became embroiled in a scuffle with Martin Keown. When the duo had ended their disagreement, Alcock called the Italian over and produced a red card, prompting the infamous push. Di Canio was fined £10,000 by the FA and banned for 11 matches.

Didier Drogba was slapped with a six-match ban for his outburst © Getty Images

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Didier Drogba
The glare of the television spotlight transformed Drogba's disgruntlement into all-out rage. Following Andres Iniesta's dramatic last-gasp strike, which sent Chelsea out of the 2009 Champions League at the semi-final stage, Drogba confronted the referee, Tom Henning Ovrebo, and swore into a television camera, offering the memorable insight "it's a f*****g disgrace". The Ivorian striker, who picked up a six-game ban for his behaviour (reduced to five on appeal), was incensed at the referee's refusal to award Chelsea two penalties in the first half when he and Florent Malouda were brought down.

Inzamam-ul-Haq
What appeared to be a routine run-chase for India was thrown into disarray when Inzamam, never the most graceful of movers, hauled himself over the advertising hoardings and into the crowd, with retribution firmly on his mind. The Pakistan batsman, wielding a bat in his hand, was hunting out a spectator who had being abusing him throughout the match - but he was restrained before causing any damage. The 1997 contest was held up for 37 minutes as the drama unfolded, and Inzamam was subsequently slapped with a two-match ban for his role in the incident.

Martina Hingis
Even when Hingis was dominating tennis - as in 1997, when she won three of the four slams - a victory at the French Open, an event she described as "torture", eluded her. And her discomfort at Roland Garros was made all-too-public in 1999 when, against Steffi Graf, she fell to defeat - despite being three points from victory in the second set. In the final set, Hingis made the petulant decision to deliver her serves under-arm, before breaking into tears during the presentation ceremony. It was the first sign that her aura was beginning to fade, and it set in motion a fall from the summit of the women's game.

Carl Froch wasn't happy after losing a close decision against Mikkel Kessler - but he won his title back later in the year © Getty Images

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Carl Froch
After losing his WBC super-middleweight title and unbeaten record against Mikkel Kessler in April last year, Froch ridiculed the judges' call - "I feel if [the fight had been in] my home town, the decision would have gone the other way" - before threatening to quit the Super Six competition - "I won't be going anywhere east of Nottingham to fight [Arthur] Abraham and it won't be in Showtime's [organisers of the Super Six] interests for me to pull out". After the passage of time made the red mist disappear, Froch went on to fight - and defeat - Abraham in Helsinki, winning back his WBC strap in the process after injury forced Kessler to vacate.

Tim Henman
When you think of tantrums in tennis, John McEnroe springs to mind. Oh no, not this time, as it is that scourge of the umpire - former British No. 1 Henman who pops up. We thought he got his nickname Tiger because it went well with Tim. Apparently not. It seems it was for flooring ball girls with tennis balls. During a men's doubles clash at Wimbledon in 1995, Henman's blood boiled following a net chord that did not go his way, to the extent that he smashed a ball in frustration. He claims he had checked to see if the line judges were out of the way. It's a shame he did not check for the ball girl scurrying across the court as the ball arrowed its way - with the accuracy he never showed at vital times in key games - right into her head. While the girl was counting stars, the referee was called and it resulted in Henman and partner Jeremy Bates being defaulted. "I was not happy at losing the point and was angry," Henman said. If only he'd got angry during his career, it might have been a different story.

Bjarne Riis
Cycling has had its fair share of controversies and bizarre moments and Riis added his name to the roster in the 1997 Tour de France. The Dane came into the race as the defending champion and, after his dominant display 12 months previous, a favourite. However, things had not gone according to plan as he was struck down by illness and found his team-mate Jan Ullrich, the eventual winner, taking control of the race. In the time trial he was lying seventh when a puncture forced his team to change wheels. It was not the swiftest of changes and to rub salt into the wounds, within 50 yards his chain came off. The red mist descended at this point as Riis climbed off his bike and hurled it into a ditch by the side of the road. Cue scenes of panic as the mechanic arrived to try and remedy the problem while a team official kept a respectful distance - possibly for fear of having a wheel or something fired his way.

Joe Mikulik
Mikulik, coach of the Asheville Tourists, achieved notoriety in June 2006, embarking on a remarkable tirade after being ejected from a match against Lexington Legends. The umpire's patience expired with Mikulik, who had torn into the official when Koby Clemens was called safe on a marginal call. Instead of accepting his punishment, Mikulik pulled up the second base before hurling it on the field, then began throwing bats around - before, most bizarrely of all, pouring water on the home plate. He was unrepentant afterwards, saying: "I could get two mannequins at Sears and umpire better than what I saw this whole series." He was given a seven-day suspension and a $1,000 fine.

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