Football occasionally morphs into an absurd theatre. When elite players sense disrespect towards their personas, common sense quickly gives way to bruised egos. Some boycotts are not born from principled beliefs but from comical and petty grievances.
Here are six of the most ludicrous instances when players refused to take the pitch.
6. Fernando Redondo: a principled haircut
Back in 1990, Redondo chose to skip the World Cup with Argentina, opting instead to stay home and focus on his law studies. This might have seemed noble at the time, but the absurdity escalated as the 1998 World Cup approached.
Legendary coach Daniel Passarella demanded players to get short haircuts. Redondo, however, made it clear that his hairstyle was part of his identity, stating,
"I am a human being first and a footballer second."His refusal cost him the chance to play in France, leaving the midfielder with just one World Cup appearance — the dramatic 1994 tournament in the USA.
5. Hatem Ben Arfa: escape from Hull to France
The French winger once staged a tantrum at Marseille to push through a transfer to Newcastle, but his petulance reached a peak during his loan spell with Hull City in the 2014/15 season.
After just nine matches, Ben Arfa grew increasingly unhappy with the demands of Steve Bruce. Following a substitution at the 35th minute in a match against Manchester United (a 0-3 defeat), he packed his bags and flew back to France — never to return to Hull. Remarkably, Bruce showed great grace, stating the transfer simply hadn’t worked out, and Ben Arfa later rejuvenated his career at Nice and earned a move to PSG.
4. William Gallas: threat to score an own goal
Refusing to play due to a transfer wish is nothing new in football, but French defender William Gallas took things to outrageous levels.
An official club statement from 2006 stated that before the season opener against Manchester City — with only four defenders left in the side and John Terry's participation in doubt due to injury — Gallas flatly refused to play, threatening that he would intentionally score an own goal or get himself sent off if pushed onto the pitch.
3. Carlos Tevez: “I’m already warmed up”
During Manchester City's championship-winning season in 2011/12, Argentine forward Tevez threw a strop in a Champions League clash against Bayern Munich.
As recalled by goalkeeper Joe Hart, after warming up for 25 minutes, Tevez was told to continue preparing ahead of a substitution, to which he replied,
"I’m already warmed up."He remained seated on the bench, leading to a scandal that saw him spend the next five months back in Argentina, visibly honing his skills on golf courses instead of football pitches.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo: not enough stars and a clash with the coach
The behaviour of the Portuguese superstar knows no bounds. Earning around half a million pounds a day, Ronaldo dramatically skipped matches in Saudi Arabia due to dissatisfaction with the club’s transfer policy, deeming the squad inadequate while teammates like Sadio Mane, Joao Felix, Kingsley Coman, Marcelo Brozovic and Inigo Martinez took the field without him.
The situation escalated when it was reported that the 41-year-old veteran would refuse to represent Portugal as long as Jorge Jesus remained the national team's head coach.
1. Yaya Toure: the tragedy of the birthday cake
Technically, the Ivorian never missed games, but the saga surrounding his birthday in May 2014 became a prime example of childish petulance from an adult man.
Just two days after City’s Premier League triumph, where Toure enjoyed one of the finest individual seasons ever (20 goals and 9 assists), his agent Dmitriy Seluk stirred up a storm over a birthday cake:
"He received a cake as a gift, but when Roberto Carlos had a birthday, the president of Anzhi gave him a Bugatti. We didn’t expect a Bugatti from City, we just wanted the club hierarchy to shake his hand and congratulate him in front of the team. That is the least amount of respect."
Toure supported his agent on social media, stating,
"All of Dimitri's words are true, he speaks on my behalf."This sparked a meme that continues to circulate in global football discussions today.
