The best touchline meltdowns after Moyes' shock moment of madness
Wenger’s infamous clashes with Jose and Dalglish, Pardew’s HEADBUTT with Meyler and Joe Jordan’s showdown with Gattuso – the best touchline meltdowns after David Moyes’ shock moment of madness in the Europa League
- David Moyes kicked a ball back at a ballboy and then joked about it afterwards
- The Hammers boss was sent off by the referee for his bizarre meltdown
- Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger and Louis van Gaal have had other touchline moments of madness in times gone by
West Ham’s Europa League semi-final defeat was compounded by manager David Moyes volleying the ball at a ballboy’s head in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park.
Moyes lost his cool and kicked the ball back the way it came as he was frustrated at how long the ballboy was taking to hand the ball back to him. The referee showed Moyes a red card for his conduct, but he still saw fit to joke about it afterwards.
‘I have to apologise for kicking the ball but the ballboy left it short and it was nicely on the volley for me,’ he said in his post-match press conference.
As Moyes and West Ham lick their wounds from their Europa League defeat, Sportsmail has compiled a list of other managerial meltdowns on the touchline…
Wenger v Jose – October 2014
The rivalry between Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho had been approaching boiling point for many months. In February 2014, Mourinho taunted Wenger by calling him a ‘specialist in failure’ and later that year, they truly came to blows on the touchline.
Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in October 2014, a game that is best remembered for Wenger pushing Mourinho as they two clashed following a heavy challenge from Gary Cahill on Alexis Sanchez.
Mourinho responded to Wenger’s push by flicking his tie and the Arsenal boss was unrepentant in the immediate aftermath.
‘What is there to regret? I wanted to go from A to B and somebody confronted me before B without any sign of welcome,’ he said.
Arsene Wenger pushed Jose Mourinho in a Chelsea v Arsenal match back in 2014
Pardew headbutts Meyler – March 2014
One of the more extraordinary clashes in Premier League history saw Newcastle manager Alan Pardew sent off for headbutting Hull midfielder David Meyler.
The collision came after Pardew was upset at Meyler appearing to push him out the way to retrieve the ball at a throw-in. They squared up, with Pardew pushing his head into Meyler’s face. A melee followed and, after the crowd was dispersed, Meyler was booked and Pardew dismissed.
‘Yeah it was a situation where I shouldn’t have been there,’ Pardew said. ‘I apologise to everyone, I shouldn’t have got involved. I didn’t mean no damage to the guy but I moved by head forward and I shouldn’t have done that.’
Alan Pardew headbutted David Meyler when tension spilled over in a Premier League match
Pearson grabs McArthur’s throat – Feb 2015
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this incident is how Nigel Pearson escaped any charge from The FA.
The incident happened in Crystal Palace’s 1-0 win against Leicester at the King Power stadium. McArthur and Marc Albrighton had been involved an innocuous tangle that took the Palace player tumbling into the feet of Pearson.
Pearson, who was caught off guard by the incident as he was watching the ball, went down and grabbed McArthur by the throat, seemingly under the impression it was his fault. After the match, he dismissed the idea there was any malice in the incident.
‘I thought they were slightly disruptive, yes. I don’t care what they think of me, I pay my tax bills. I didn’t see it until the morning,’ Pearson said,
“It’s not helpful when the three fountains of knowledge on Match of the Day make a mountain out of a molehill, there’s nothing in that on Saturday. The lad’s okay and it was very light-hearted.’
Nigel Pearson inexplicably grabbed Crystal Palace’s James MacArthur by the the throat in 2015
Van Gaal’s dive – Feb 2016
It takes a lot to upstage Mike Dean, but Louis van Gaal managed to do so during a touchline exchange in his days as Manchester United manager.
During a game against Arsenal in 2016, Van Gaal was furious with a perceived dive by Alexis Sanchez and remonstrated with Dean, to the extent where he threw himself to the ground to make his point clear.
Afterwards, the Dutchman admitted he shouldn’t have done it.
‘That was too emotional because at that time you are little bit too emotional because it is not good for the referee, the linesman, the fourth referee,’ Van Gaal said.
‘I was emotional. It happens not too much. Normally I am sitting on my bench and I have a lot of criticism because I am sitting on my bench. I have apologised to the referee and the linesman. I have to control my emotions.’
Louis van Gaal mimicked what he thought was an Alexis Sanchez dive in front of Mike Dean
Joe Jordan v Gattuso
It takes a brave man to confront Joe Jordan. Gennaro Gattuso is, if nothing else, a brave man.
They clashed when Jordan reacted furiously to Mathieu Flamini escaping a red card for a very heavy challenge on Vedran Corluka in Tottenham’s Champions League last-16 tie in Milan.
The duo locked horns again at the final whistle, this time with Gattuso even taking his shirt off.
‘I lost control. There is no excuse for what I did. I take my responsibilities for that,’ Gattuso said. ‘I was nervous. We were both speaking Scottish, something that I learned when I played in his home city of Glasgow, but I can’t tell you what we said.
‘I didn’t want to argue with players and I did it with him but I was wrong to do what I have done. I will have to await what they decide.’
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp added: ‘He obviously hadn’t done his homework. He could’ve picked a fight with somebody else. Putting his head into Joe’s face, it was crazy. He lost his head.’
Joe Jordan and Gennaro Gattuso clashed in a Tottenham v AC Milan Champions League tie
Gattuso said that he and Jordan exchanged verbals ‘in Scottish’ during their clash
Kenny Dalglish v Wenger
Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish had been out of the dugout for 11 years but when he returned as interim manager for the Reds, he was very quick to show he had lost none of his fighting spirit.
In a game away to Arsenal, he gave Wenger a piece of his mind when the Gunners boss was protesting a very late penalty that Liverpool had equalised from in a 1-1 draw.
‘It’s a penalty! P*** off!’ Dalglish shouted at Wenger. ‘It’s a penalty! F*** off!’.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=8WQH-bBu2ug%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
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