5 of the worst fouls in football history

#2 Axel Witsel on Marcin Wasilewski

Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel doesn’t exactly have a reputation as a dirty player, which makes sense as he’s more of an attacker than a defensive midfielder or hard-hitting enforcer.

In 2009 though, he was responsible for one of the worst fouls in football history and certainly one of the worst injuries seen on the pitch in the modern era. Representing Standard Liege in a heated game against rivals Anderlecht, the foul came against Polish international defender Marcin Wasilewski.

The ball was running loose on the left-hand side of the pitch close to the touchline, and Wasilewski lunged at it in an attempt to keep it in play. As his right leg hooked around towards the ball, Witsel came sprinting at full pace from the opposite angle and leapt over the top, crashing down onto the lower leg with the full weight of his right boot.

Wasilewski’s leg was left snapped cleanly in two, the lower part hanging off the upper in a truly sickening visual.

Unsurprisingly, Witsel received a straight red card, and was then banned for ten games – a ban which was surprisingly reduced to eight games, probably due to Witsel showing remorse for the tackle after the incident.

It was such a bad challenge that Witsel received death threats from fans of both Anderlecht and Poland, although thankfully for all parties, Wasilewski returned to action less than a year after the incident and went on to play for a further nine seasons.