From Cantona kung-fu kick to Barton on the rampage – famous players who saw red

Several notable Premier League players have been handed hefty suspensions for on-field misdemeanours.

Published Mar 21, 2023

Last updated Mar 21, 2023

Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines for barging referee Chris Kavanagh in Fulham’s 3-1 FA Cup defeat at Manchester United.

The Football Association has said the standard punishment for his dismissal at Old Trafford would be “clearly insufficient”.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at a selection of other players who were handed hefty suspensions for on-field misdemeanours.

Eric Cantona (eight months)

Eric Cantona attacked a Crystal Palace fan in 1995 and was banned for eight matches (PA Archive/PA)

Paolo Di Canio (11 matches)

Paolo Di Canio attracted infamy when he pushed over Paul Alcock (Paul Barker/PA)

Lee Bowyer (seven matches)

Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer were forced to apologise after their fight on the pitch for Newcastle (Owen Humphreys/PA)

David Prutton (10 matches)

David Prutton pushed Alan Wiley after being sent off (Chris Ison/PA)

Ben Thatcher (eight matches)

Pedro Mendes was left needing oxygen after Ben Thatcher's horror tackle — Pedro Mendes was left needing oxygen after Ben Thatcher’s horror tackle (Peter Byrne/PA)

Joey Barton (12 matches)

Joey Barton went on the rampage after being sent off for QPR against Manchester City (Dave Thompson/PA)

Luis Suarez (10 matches)

Luis Suarez was banned for 10 matches for biting Branislav Ivanovic (Peter Byrne/PA)