Top 10 Controversial Premier League Moments

There have been many controversial moments in the Premier League over the years involving both players and managers whether they've lost their cool or have done something absolutely crazy.

The majority of controversial moments in the Premier League have involved players because they're the ones who go out there to perform on the pitch and the most likely to lose their cool or let their emotions get the better of them.

Any player or manager can lose their cool during a game of football because they may feel frustrated with their own performance or with certain decisions going against them and this can lead them to doing things completely unexpected.

We don't like seeing players doing controversial things because they're not good for the game but they are a part of football because players can lose their cool when they're out there on the pitch.

The moments in the list are a mixture of players losing their cool and doing things that very few people expected them to do.

Now here is the list:

Emmanuel Adebayor running the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans - 2009

Eric Cantona's Kung-Fu kick - 1995

Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer fight - 2005

Alan Pardew headbutt on David Meyler - 2014

Harry the Hornet mocking Wilfried Zaha with a dive - 2016

Luis Suarez bites Branislav Ivanovic - 2013

Paolo Di Canio pushes Paul Alcock - 1998

Luis Suarez racially abuses Patrice Evra - 2011

Martin Keown mocks Ruud Van Nistelrooy for missing penalty - 2003

Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira in the tunnel - 2005

10. Emmanuel Adebayor running the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans

Most players don't celebrate when they score against their old club's because they want to show some respect to their former sides.

But Adebayor was the complete opposite when he scored against Arsenal for Man City in his first game against Arsenal since leaving them for City as he not just celebrated his goal, but ran the length of the pitch to celebrate right in front of the Arsenal fans.

We winded up the Arsenal fans by doing this and they clearly weren't happy with it as they launched objects towards Adebayor as he slide on his knees towards the stand the Arsenal fans were in.

This moment had to be at no.10 because it probably wasn't as controversial as the other moments on the list.

9. Harry the Hornet mocking Wilfried Zaha with a dive

Watford mascot Harry the Hornet mocked Wilfried Zaha with a dive after the Hornet's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace during which Zaha was booked for diving.

Zaha did have a reputation for diving during his time at Crystal Palace as there were many times where he went down very easily.

Sam Allardyce, who was Crystal Palace manager at the time, described it as 'out of order' before Roy Hodgson called the mascot a 'disgrace' a couple of years later.

The moment was quite funny when it happened because of the mascot imitating a player's action but at the same time it was disrespectful as the man in the mascot outfit should've shown more respect.

8. Martin Keown mocking Ruud Van Nistelrooy for missing penalty

Martin Keown clearly let his emotions get the better of him when he mocked Van Nistelrooy for missing his penalty as it was a high pressure game between the two top dogs in English football and when games are high pressure, players can lose control of themselves.

The reason he mocked Van Nistelrooy for his penalty miss was because he felt that Van Nistelrooy was feigning an injury in order to get Patrick Vieira sent off earlier in the game.

Van Nistelrooy was booked at that very stage of the game for a challenge on Vieira and him moving out of the way of Vieira appearing to kick him was what got Vieira sent off for a second bookable offence.

Van Nistelrooy won the penalty for Man United moments later in stoppage time which he of course went on to miss and his penalty miss proved costly as it would've handed United the win with the score at the time being 0-0, which is how the game ended.

Keown has since apologised to Van Nistelrooy for his reaction to the missed penalty, something he probably should've done right after the game instead of many years later.

7. Luis Suarez racially abusing Patrice Evra

Suarez has been a controversial figure for most of his career and especially when he was at Liverpool and his racial abuse of Patrice Evra was his first controversial incident.

The reason why he did it was probably because he was frustrated during the game and may have let his frustration get the better of him by speaking to Evra in a racist tongue.

He was later issued with an eight match ban and hefty fine following this incident and when I look back on it, the FA should've punished him sooner with his ban starting around the turn of the year instead of shortly after the incident, which was when it should've started.

6. Paolo Di Canio pushing Paul Alcock

Di Canio could be a bit of a hothead on his day because of the fiery personality he had and he showed that side of it when he shoved referee Paul Alcock just seconds after being sent off by him.

Alcock sent off Di Canio for kicking Martin Keown during a game between Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal during a clash between both sets of players and after being sent off, he let his emotions get the better of him by deciding to push Paul Alcock.

He was later banned for 11 games and handed a hefty fine before joining West Ham after completing the ban in January of that season.

5. Luis Suarez bites Branislav Ivanovic

Suarez was known for taking a chunk out of his opponents and his biting of Ivanovic was the second time he bit someone in his career having done so previously at Ajax.

He was having a frustrating game in that he barely had a site of goal and as he tried to get himself into a goal scoring position, he let his frustrations get the better of him by taking a chunk out of Ivanovic.

He was later banned for 10 games missing the rest of that season and the first few games of the following season.

4. Alan Pardew headbutt on David Meyler

Pardew's headbutt on David Meyler wasn't as ferocious as Zinedine Zidane's headbutt on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final, but it will still go down as one of the most controversial moments in Premier League history.

He was initially shoved by Meyler when the ball went out of play towards him and after being shoved, he let his emotions get the better of him and headbutted Meyler.

He was later banned for seven games with the first three being a stadium ban and the next four being a touchline ban.

3. Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira in the tunnel

Arsenal and Man United were at the height of their rivalry in 2005 with Keane and Vieira's incident in the tunnel at Highbury being the moment that summed it up.

Both players were fierce and competitive individuals on the pitch and they also had a strong personality which was evident when they clashed in the tunnel before the match.

The referee appeared to have calmed the situation by guiding Vieira away, but Keane continued mouthing off to Vieira just before walked out of the tunnel.

Keane was probably the player who started it all off as he believed that Vieira was trying to bully Gary Neville.

Both Keane and Vieira had many battles on the pitch together when they were at Man United and Arsenal respectively and their clash in the tunnel saw their rivalry go onto another level.

2. Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer fight

You're more likely to see two opponents fight each other on the pitch instead of two teammates. But the latter was what happened when Bowyer and Dyer decided to throw punches at one another.

Newcastle were losing 3-0 at the time and were already a man down after Steven Taylor was sent off 10 minutes earlier.

Just when you want your team to stick together after having a man sent off, two teammates decided to have a scrap at one another and get themselves sent off.

Graeme Souness, who was Newcastle manager at the time, was undoubtedly furious with the pair of them at full time and he was so furious that he even challenged the pair of them to a fight.

I listened to Alan Shearer describing this moment on the Match of the Day Top 10 podcast as I found his take on it quite funny.

1. Eric Cantona's Kung-Fu kick

Cantona's Kung-Fu kick had to be my no.1 because it's one of the most iconic moments in Premier League history as well as the most controversial.

He had already been sent off for kicking Crystal Palace defender Richard Shaw, who frustrated him all game, and as he was making his way off the pitch he was abused by a Palace fan who he later threw himself at with a Kung-Fu kick.

He was later banned from football for four months before the ban was later extended to nine and given a hefty of fine of £10,000 which was later increased to £30,000.

He also delivered one of the strangest press conferences ever during which he said this iconic quote: 'When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea'.

MY TOP 10:

1. Eric Cantona's Kung-Fu kick

2. Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer fight

3. Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira in the tunnel

4. Alan Pardew headbutt on David Meyler

5. Luis Suarez bites Branislav Ivanovic

6. Paolo Di Canio pushes Paul Alcock

7. Luis Suarez racially abuses Patrice Evra

8. Martin Keown mocking Ruud Van Nistelrooy for missing penalty

9. Harry the Hornet mocking Wilfried Zaha with a dive

10. Emmanuel Adebayor running the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans