A goalkeeper in Spain made headlines on Sunday night for flooring an opponent with a ferocious punch and sparking a mass brawl during Real Zaragoza defeat against rivals Huesca.
Zaragoza, who lost the Aragonese derby 1-0, were the subject of huge controversy after their goalkeeper Esteban Andrada channelled his inner Mike Tyson and thumped Huesca star Jorge Pulido to the turf with a strong right hook.
Violent incidents of this nature are rare in modern football, but Andrada’s astonishing punch is up there with some of the most shocking bust-ups the sport has ever witnessed.
Daily Mail Sport takes a look at football’s most famous fights over the years, from Diego Maradona’s moment of madness to a staggering brawl involving a Brazilian international that only happened one month ago.
A goalkeeper floored an opponent in the Spanish second division on Sunday, sparking a brawl
The match descended into a full-on melee, with two more players sent off in the fracas
The Battle of Santiago
Widely regarded as the ugliest football match ever, Chile’s 1962 World Cup clash with Italy went into the history books for all the wrong reasons.
English referee Ken Ashton had the unenviable task of officiating a game later coined the ‘Battle of Santiago’, where numerous punch-ups occurred and police intervention was required on four separate occasions.
Tensions had bubbled to boiling point after two Italian journalists, Antonio Ghirelli and Corrado Pizzinelli, wrote negatively about host nation Chile prior to the tournament, labelling the proud country as poverty-ridden and underdeveloped.
Italy’s players caught the brunt of this during the Group B match, as Chile’s stars launched kicks, elbows, punches and all upon the opposition, while also being on the receiving end of acts of retaliation themselves.
Although Ashton tried to seize control of the contest by sending off two players, several offenders refused to leave the pitch when ordered to and police were forced to intervene multiple times.
Chile’s 1962 World Cup clash with Italy is widely regarded as the ugliest football match ever
Kung-fu Cantona sees red
Few moments in football history are as shocking – or as surreal – as Eric Cantona’s infamous attack on a supporter during Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in 1995.
The Red Devils forward had just been sent off by referee Alan Wilkie when, while walking towards the tunnel, he reacted to abuse from a fan in the crowd by launching a kung-fu kick followed by a flurry of punches.
The supporter, later identified as Matthew Simmons, had reportedly shouted insults from the stands, triggering one of the most extraordinary confrontations the sport has ever seen.
The Frenchman was subsequently handed a lengthy eight-month suspension, 120 hours of community service and a £20,000 fine, with the moment itself becoming one of the controversial incidents ever in Premier League history.
In 1995, Eric Cantona launched a kung-fu kick followed by a flurry of punches on a supporter
Bradford’s Crawley brawl
Tempers boiled over in astonishing fashion when Bradford City faced Crawley Town in a fiery League Two clash back in 2012.
What began as a hard-fought contest soon descended into chaos at full-time, as players from both Bradford and Crawley brawled in a remarkable melee which saw flying punches, fierce confrontations and battering-ram-style barges on the pitch.
Officials were forced to intervene but struggled to separate the huge number of players involved as tensions spilled over after the final whistle, with visitors Crawley winning 2-1.
In the aftermath, the referee issued a flurry of red cards, giving five players their marching orders to mark one of the largest mass sendings-off in modern English football history.
Bradford were slapped with a £9,000 fine by the FA for failing to control their players while Crawley were fined twice as much given it was their second offence of this nature over the past 12 months.
Maradona goes bananas
Another explosive scrap for the ages unfolded at the 1984 Copa del Rey final, when Argentina icon Diego Maradona was infamously at the centre of a full-scale brawl between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao.
Tempers had been simmering throughout the match, fuelled by a series of heavy tackles and lingering bad blood between the two sides, but it all boiled over dramatically after the final whistle.
Taking issue with unused substitute Miguel Angel Sola’s gloating at full-time, Maradona launched a flying knee into the Bilbao star before throwing punches and sparking a brawl between players and coaching staff from both dugouts.
It quickly spiralled into an all-in melee, with kicks, punches and objects thrown in what has gone down in history as one of the most infamous post-match fights ever witnessed.
Argentina and Barcelona legend Diego Maradona was not shy of controversy on the pitch
Lee Bowyer vs Kieron Dyer
In one of the most bizarre incidents ever witnessed in Premier League history, Newcastle team-mates Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer were involved in a furious scrap against Aston Villa in 2005 before both sent off for violent conduct.
With frustrations already mounting on a difficult afternoon for Newcastle, who ultimately lost 3-0, the midfield pair became involved in an on-field argument that quickly escalated to breaking point.
Bowyer lashed out in anger by throwing punches at Dyer, who attempted to defend himself, before stunned team-mates and opponents quickly rushed in to break up the fight.
Both players were sent off for their involvement, reducing Newcastle to nine men in what was an extremely rare and extraordinary moment in Premier League history
It has since been claimed that the fight erupted because Bowyer had angrily accused Dyer of not passing to him and received a reply of ‘it’s because you’re s***’ from the former England international.
Opening up on the incident since, Dyer has said: ‘I was trying to let him punch himself out. But by the time the fourth one came in, I thought “f*** this” and launched one back.’
Newcastle team-mates Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer furious fought each other back in 2005
Brutal Brazilian bust-up
A staggering 23 players were sent off last month over in Brazil after a mass brawl broke out in a hostile derby between Cruzeiro and Atletico Mineiro.
The match, which was won 1-0 by Atletico, was overshadowed hugely by unsavoury scenes or violence and anger as players and staff traded physical blows on the pitch.
The confrontation was sparked in second-half stoppage time when Atletico goalkeeper Everson pushed Christian to the ground after the Cruzeiro midfielder collided with him while chasing a loose ball.
As Christian lay prone, Everson put his legs in the face of the stricken player before then having some choice words with his opponent.
However, the goalkeeper was quickly ambushed by angry Cruzeiro players with one appearing to strike him from behind. This then sparked a mass melee that spread inside the goal, the six-yard box and off the pitch too.
A mass brawl broke out during rivals Cruzeiro (in blue) and Atletico Mineiro last month
The brawl originally sparked when Atletico goalkeeper Everson pushed Christian to the ground
One of the players involved in the brawl was former Brazilian international Hulk, who was caught on video throwing a punch to the back of Cruzeiro captain Lucas Romero.
‘It’s regrettable, I have never seen violence like that in any football game,’ the remorseful 39-year-old forward reflected to Brazilian local media after the match.
