Random Acts of Hostility Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer

The fixture between Newcastle and Aston Villa will always be remembered for the photo of Dyer and Bowyer attacking each other while Villa's Gareth Barry tries to pull them apart. Newcastle were 3-0 down and reduced to ten men after Steven Taylor had been sent off. What reportedly sparked the fight was Bowyer accusing Dyer of not passing to him, and Dyer saying, "Because you're not very good" (or words to that effect). Bowyer lashed out at Dyer, Dyer fought back and both players were sent off. An angry Graeme Souness ordered both players to apologise. Bowyer was banned for seven matches, and Dyer for three.

Answer: True

The Battle of Bramall Lane occurred when West Bromwich Albion beat Sheffield United 3-0 on 16 March 2002. The first player to be sent off was Sheffield United goalie Simon Tracey, for handling the ball outside his area. Neil Warnock brought on Georges Santos and Patrick Suffo when Derek McInnes scored West Brom's second goal, but both were sent off: Santos for a dodgy tackle on Andy Johnson, who had previously injured him, and Suffo for headbutting McInnes when a fight broke out. Michael Brown and Robert Ullathorne were both injured, but as Sheffield United had used all their subs, they were unable to substitute either player, leaving them with six men.

Referee Eddie Wolstenholme abandoned the match in the 82nd minute and West Brom won the game. Both Warnock and several of his players were fined, and West Brom manager Gary Megson accused Warnock of cheating. Suffo and Santos subsequently left Sheffield United.

Answer: Paolo Di Canio

Paolo Di Canio was a volatile player and did not get on with Wednesday manager Danny Wilson, and his behaviour against Arsenal did not help matters. Wednesday won the match 1-0 thanks to a Lee Briscoe goal and some key saves by Kevin Pressman, but it was Di Canio who made the headlines after he pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground.

A fight had broken out between the teams, started by Arsenal's Patrick Vieira, and Di Canio got into a fight with Vieira's team mate Martin Keown. When Alcock pulled out his red card and sent Di Canio off, Di Canio pushed him over. Keown was also sent off, and Vieira was booked.

Answer: Barcelona

Diego Maradona did not have an easy time during his tenure at Barcelona. Not only did he contract hepatitis, but he also had his ankle broken in a game against Athletic Bilbao by Bilbao's Andoni "Butcher of Bilbao" Goikoetxea, leaving him injured for three months. In the 1984 Copa del Rey final against Bilbao, Goikoetxea tackled Maradona and the crowd taunted Maradona with racist insults about his father's background. Bilbao won the match 1-0 and Miguel Sola provoked Maradona, causing him to go into a rage and headbutt Sola, elbow another Bilbao player and knock another out by kneeing him in the head.

Unsurprisingly, the Bilbao squad were not happy and fought back, with Goikoetxea booting Maradona in the chest and the rest of the Barcelona squad wading in. The game ended up being Maradona's last for Barcelona, as he fell out with club executives, and he subsequently left for Napoli.

Answer: Tottenham Hotspur

Season 2015-16 will go down in history as the season in which Leicester City won the Premier League, but Chelsea made headlines for the wrong reasons; the team had been underperforming all season, resulting in Jose Mourinho's sacking. However, they turned it around against Tottenham Hotspur in a game near the end of the season, that Spurs needed to win in order to chase Leicester. Chelsea's Eden Hazard stated that neither Chelsea nor their fans wanted Spurs to win the league.

Spurs were leading 2-0 in the first half, but Chelsea came back to equalise 2-2 in the second half. The Leicester team, watching at Jamie Vardy's house, celebrated the result. The game was a volatile one, with a fight breaking out following Danny Rose's tackle on Chelsea's Willian, and nine yellow cards being given out to Spurs and three to Chelsea. Referee Mark Clattenburg decided not to send anyone off and deliberately let Spurs play on in the hope that they would 'self destruct'. Both clubs were fined for failing to control the players.

Answer: Norman Hunter

Leeds had a reputation for being one of the dirtiest teams in English football, and Norman Hunter gained a reputation as one of their harder players, thanks to a banner saying "Norman Bites Yer Legs". When he fouled Lee in the 18-yard box, Derby were awarded a penalty, which was scored by Charlie George. In the second half, Hunter swung a punch at Lee and Lee tried to attack back, but was blocked by Leeds players.

The referee booked them both, but it didn't end there: both Lee and Hunter wandered off to the far side of the field and began punching each other, and both teams had to get involved to pull the combatants off each other. Hunter gave Lee a split lip and he required stitches. Both players were sent off, and Lee was banned for four weeks.

Answer: Spartak Moscow

Underdogs Blackburn Rovers surprised everyone in 1995 when they won the Premier League title, which saw them in the Champions League the following season. Unfortunately, they suffered three straight losses and a 0-0 draw against Legia Warsaw. They were playing Spartak Moscow in Russia when a fight broke out between team-mates David Batty and Graeme Le Saux, after the two crashed into each other by accident. An angry Le Saux lashed out at Batty, and the two had to be separated by Blackburn captain Tim Sherwood. Spartak Moscow won 3-0.

Answer: Manchester United 0-0 Arsenal

Even 0-0 draws can get a bit spicy! The 2003-04 season turned out to be a memorable one for Arsenal, as they ended it undefeated and the team were dubbed "The Invincibles". Against Manchester United, the trouble started when Patrick Vieira was booked for a foul on Quinton Fortune, and then sent off for kicking out at Rudi van Nistelrooy, when van Nistelrooy jumped on his back. Martin Keown then conceded a penalty after fouling Diego Forlán and van Nistelrooy took it, but hit the bar.

After the match ended, a confrontation broke out between van Nistelrooy and a gang of Arsenal players. Keown hit van Nistelrooy in the back, Lauren pushed him and Ray Parlour and Ashley Cole swore at him. United captain Roy Keane led van Nistelrooy away, but a group of United players retaliated. Arsenal manager Arsčne Wenger accused van Nistelrooy of feigning contact, but his opposite number Alex Ferguson disagreed. Arsenal were fined for failing to control their players, while Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo were penalised for inappropriate conduct.

Answer: Manchester City & Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid were one of Spain's dirtiest teams and no strangers to brawls, and their quarter final game against Manchester City was no exception. The teams were drawing 0-0 on aggregate, but City won the second leg with a Kevin de Bruyne goal. Late in the game, Felipe (Atletico) was sent off for a nasty challenge on Phil Foden (Manch. City).

The trouble started after the game when City's Jack Grealish called Atletico's Stefan Savic an extremely rude word and Savic responded by pulling his hair.

A brawl broke out between both teams, including substitutes and staff, which resulted in nine minutes of stoppage time. Clashes in the tunnel continued after the game ended.

Answer: Idrissa Gana Gueye

Everton were playing Manchester United when an argument broke out between Everton's Idrissa Gana Gueye and Michael Keane, culminating in Gueye slapping Keane. Jordan Pickford, himself one of Everton's more volatile players, pulled Gueye away from Keane. Gueye was then sent off by referee Tony Harrington, a decision which manager David Moyes later criticised as hasty, but which PGMO head Howard Webb felt was justified. Everton amazingly went on to win the game 1-0, and Gueye later issued an apology. [PGMO - Professional Game Match Officials - is responsible for refereeing games.

It was formed in 2001 when referees became fully professional. ]