Sportskeeda's End of the Year awards: Top 10 Controversies in 2011

There’s no doubt that 2011 has been a breathtaking year in World Football, with plenty of drama and action filling up the year’s calendar. From Paul Scholes’ retirement to Barcelona winning the Club World Cup final in style, moment’s glory were certainly not lacking but as were edge closer towards the conclusion of 2011, there’s another perspective of football to be reiterated to the fans. Sportskeeda puts together 10 moments of controversy that stood out from an eventful 2011. We selected incidents from different parts of the world, to provide a more diverse look to the articles and incidents. All examples given have not been placed in any order.

Gino Coutinho’s drug allegationsFor those who keep on whining on Joey Barton and Mario Balotelli, please buckle up for Coutinho. He was initially arrested in 2009 when a raid on his warehouse in the town of Ens led to the police discovering around 4,200 marijuana plants. The Den Haag goalkeeper continuously denied his involvement although he was present on scene during the raid and that the property was even listed under his name.

Earlier this year, his father was sentenced to jail after appearing to be the mastermind behind the plot and while the Public Prosecutors have indicated that Countinho did not know anything about the plantation, he was sentenced to 240 hours community service and six months suspended prison sentence in May.

Iranian Football and their issue with buttocksThis is probably more of a hilarious controversy as two Iranian players were banned due to some ‘improper conduct’ . Persepolis players Sheys Rezaei and Mohammad Nosrati, were given severe punishments’ after celebrating a goal in an immoral way. Nosrati was seen on camera pressing his hand into Rezaei’s buttocks while celebrating the winning goal in the 3-2 win over Damash Gilan, and this incident raised plenty of negative response in Iran, which has rules against homosexuality.

The Iranian Football Federation (IFF) suspended Rezaei for a staggering 20 months, while Nosrati has been banned from football for 10 months. Both players also received €22,500 fines in what has transformed into a popular incident worldwide.South Africa – Of major tournaments and miscalculations

It was a chaotic situation for South Africa as a miscalculation prevented them from booking a berth in the 2012 African Cup of Nations. Heading into the final round of qualifiers in October, South Africa needed to beat Sierra Leone and hope Egypt overcome Niger in their match as well. A victory was important for them to book a spot. However, when Egypt were leading Niger, the Bafana Bafana thought a draw was enough to take them through. They made the decision of going for the draw against Sierra Leone and attempted to play it safe.

However, they were embarrasingly unware of the CAF rules to settle contest between teams on equal points in the group. It stated that: The team with the “greater number of points obtained in the matches between the concerned teams” will go through. Which absolutely meant that Niger qualified since they won against South Africa and Sierre Leone. It does sound complicated but the South African officials made a fool out of themselves by not analysing the rules and regulations properly.

Andy Gray and Richard Keys’ sexist commentsTwo renowned commentators in English football were caught red-handed after appearing to direct sexist comments towards a female linesman earlier this year. The commentators, who apparently believed their microphones were switched off, were recorded making sexist remarks about Sian Massey, 25, before Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Wolves last January.

Shanghai Shenhua’s coach lifting his player off the pitch for play-actingProbably we should not label this as controversial but the incident raised plenty of response. The incident happened in the closing stages of Shenhua’s clash away to Nanchang in October when Shenhua youngster Liu Junnan went down after bumping against an opponent. He then proceeded to pretend to be injured, laying on the ground. His actions absolutely angered manager Dražen Besek, who stormed into the pitch and lifted him off the grass in stunning fashion.

The act was applauded by many sections of the Chinese football community, claiming that it was necessary in warning players against play-acting.

Theyab Awana – Controversial Penalty and DeathUnited Arab Emirates midfielder Theyab Awana became an instant hit on the internet after scoring an impeccable back heel penalty. The 21 year-old Awana, scored the controversial 78th-minute penalty in the UAE’s 7-2 international friendly win over Lebanon last July. However, he died in a car crash last September, ending what seemed like a bright career for the young midfielder. He died after being involved in an accident when travelling back from training in Al Ain to Abu Dhabi.

Peter Reid kisses Diego Maradona’s Hand of God in Abu DhabiFormer England midfielder Peter Reid appeared to have reunited with nemesis Diego Maradona, who scored the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal against and England side with Reid back in 1986. Reid was never a fan of Maradona, and even labelled him as a ‘cheat’ in one of his sports column back in June. However, a video of him embracing Maradona was filmed in Abu Dhabi and Reid even kissed Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’, raising plenty of questions regarding their initial controversy.

Luis Suarez‘ ‘racism’ issue

This has been one of the most hotly debated issues in recent weeks after the FA took a strong measure handing Suarez a staggering 8 match ban for racists charge. Suarez, was apparently caught directing racial comments regarding skin colour towards Manchester United‘s Patrice Evra in their league clash last October. Liverpool have officially announced their decision to fight in support of Suarez, maintaining their view that Suarez is innocent. However, the FA have reiterated their decision with this event also sending out a huge message in their bid to banish racism from football.

AZ Alkmaar goalkeeper kicks spectator who invaded the pitch This is another incident that took place only recently in a Eredivise clash between Ajax Amsterdaam and AZ Alkmaar. A supporter entered the pitch after 38 minutes and ran towards AZ goalkeeper, Esteban before aiming a kick at the Costa Rican. He responded by bringing down the fan and kicking him twice while he was on the grass, before on-rushing stewards intervened and took the invading fan away. The referee than sent Esteban off for misconduct before the AZ team walked off in protest of the decision. Esteban’s decision was absolutely understandable considering the attack from the fan but this is one controversy that can be torn apart in debate without any conclusion.

Sepp Blatter’s comments on racismWith racism in football being at a super high level in England, Sepp Blatter had to come up with one blatant statement which has perhaps transformed him into a virtual public enemy. Speaking about the racism battle being faced by the world, Blatter said: “There is no racism [on the field], but maybe there is a word or gesture that is not correct. The one affected by this should say this is a game and shake hands.”

The comments revoked negative reactions worldwide, with different sections of the footballing world labeling him as an utter misfit for the beautiful game. He responded by making a public apology but nevertheless, the damage was already done. By all means, it is a statement that will forever come back to haunt the FIFA president.