Top 5 footballers with criminal records

The law is applies to everyone even to our footballers. However some of these guys think that they are above the law and have repeatedly made headlines for some reason or the other invoking feeling of amusement or disgust among their fans in the process. Here is a list of 5 footballers who have found themselves on the wrong side of the law.

#1 Nicklas Bendtner

The self proclaimed “best striker in the world” has had regular brushes with the law during his time at Arsenal. Bendtner first made the headlines when he was seen leaving a nightclub with his pants down after his team were knocked out of the Champions League by Manchester United back in 2009. That same year Bendtner was involved in a near-fatal car accident and had totally wrecked his £160,000 Aston Martin. Two years later during his time on loan at Sunderland the Dane was arrested after going on a car wrecking spree and causing £4,000 in damage.

In 2013 Bendtner was hit with a three year driving ban and was fined £100,000 by the police in his native Denmark. The 26-year-old was even forbidden from playing with the national team for six months due to his actions. Last November, Bendtner ran into trouble again after he was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage at his luxury apartment. The striker was recently in the news once again after a taxi driver in Copenhagen claimed that Bendtner unbuttoned his pants and rubbed himself against his taxi in a drunken stupor along with threatening the driver and repeatedly hitting the car with his belt.

#2 Andy Carroll

The towering West Ham United striker has been a bad boy off the pitch. Carroll was arrested back in 2009 after being involved in a bar brawl where he smashed a glass in a man’s face. In 2010 the striker, then with Newcastle United, was charged with assault and was slapped with a £1,000 fine along with being ordered to pay £2,500 in compensation. Carroll made headlines again when he got into a fight with Newcastle team mate Steven Taylor and left him with a broken jaw.

Later that year Carrolll allegedly assaulted his girlfriend and claimed that he did it “in self defence”. The youngsters drinking habits continued to get him into trouble and he was warned by then England manager Fabio Capello to control his drinking or risk being dropped from the squad.

#3 Ravel Morrison

The Manchester born lad has undeniable talent and was described by Sir Alex Ferguson as one of the most promising teenagers he has ever seen but just couldn’t stay away from trouble during his time at Manchester United. Morrison’s trouble started back in 2011 when he received a 12-month referral order and was made to fork out £1,445 in costs and compensation after being found guilty of two counts of witness intimidation.

Things went from bad to worse after he was found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend along with throwing her mobile phone out of the window. Morrison’s girlfriend refused to file any charges but the youngster was convicted of domestic violence and was told to consider counselling in order to improve his behaviour. The midfielder’s woes continued when he was pulled up for posting threats on his Twitter account and was fined £7,000 for his actions. Former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson finally realised that a life away from Manchester would suit Morrison best and he was subsequently sold to West Ham United where he is beginning to show his potential as a player.

#4 Raheem Sterling

The Liverpool winger is another talented footballer who has been in hot water in the past. The 19-year-old was arrested for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, Shana Ann Rose Halliday on 8th August 2013. This was not the first time Sterling was arrested for this offense and was previously on trial for another assault case which fell through due to the witness not appearing in court.

Halliday, who was named as England’s Top Model, got into an argument with Sterling after she saw a message on the midfielders phone and tried to grab the phone from him which caused the youngster to react violently. The case was dropped against Sterling on 20th September after his girlfriend failed to give enough evidence against the footballer which caused the jury to abandon the case.

#5 Glen Johnson

The Liverpool right-back was involved in a bizarre incident during his time at Portsmouth back in 2007. The then 22-year-old attempted to steal a toilet seat from home improvement store B&Q. The full back and his friend were caught putting the toilet seat into a box with a cheaper price tag by the store’s security guard.

Johnson, who then earned a salary of £30,000 a week, also hid a couple of taps in the same box in an attempt to avoid paying for them. The store workers informed the police who promptly arrested the duo along with fining them £80 on the spot for their actions. What’s even more shocking is that Johnson didn’t appear sorry for his actions and was reportedly smiling even after he had been apprehended.