10 Biggest Premier League Controversies

From Newcastle United throwing away a 12 point lead at the top in 1996 to Sergio Aguero's last-minute title winner in 2012, the Premier League has provided plenty of footballing drama down the years.

But it has also been a source for a whole different kind of drama, full of equally shocking twists and turns with nobody even kicking a ball.

A player attacking a rival fan can have more impact on a title chase in the long run than a defensive error. Some financial dodgy dealings can ruin a manager's reputation as easily as a shrewd bargain capture can make it. And, years later, fans are as likely to remember their star striker sinking his teeth into an opposing defender as they are him scoring a wonder goal.

Scandal and controversy are an essential part of what makes the Premier League so compelling. And, in almost thirty years since the league's inception, there have been plenty of juicy incidents to choose from.

Here are the ten most controversial Premier League moments that set tongues wagging amongst the pub pundits every bit as much as what's happening on the pitch.

The Background:

It's 2020 and the country is on lockdown. People are told only to go out for essential reasons and to restrict gatherings to no more than two people. All football is suspended until further notice. It shouldn't really be possible to create a footballing scandal under the circumstances.

Manchester City and England right back Kyle Walker is one of several players to give a statement encouraging people to protect the NHS by following the government's public health guidance.

Walker, however, has a history of sex scandals. His rocky relationship with long-term girlfriend Annie Kilner ended in 2019 after years of tabloid gossip about his infidelities, including fathering a secret lovechild with model and reality star Lauryn Goodman. In a bizarre story from 2015, while at Tottenham, Walker was forced to deny having filmed a video shared by Arsenal fans of a woman (alleged to be Kilner) receiving oral sex from a dog.

The Controversy:

Literally a day before his public statement telling people to remain indoors and stay safe, Walker hosts a "sex party" with a friend and a pair of escorts. Although he claims to the girls his name is "Kai", the story gets out when one of the escorts recognises Walker as one of the country's best known footballers and goes to the press.

While scandals involving footballers and sex workers are too everyday to be major controversies (Wayne Rooney suffered no real long-term impact from his regular visits to a rubber-catsuit-wearing grandmother, for example), the flagrant - and hypocritical - violation of health advice during a national crisis just drives home how out of touch footballers are with the public.

The Aftermath:

Walker is disciplined and fined by City, but the biggest impact may be on his England career with enraged coach Gareth Southgate suggesting he may never play for his country again.