10 Idiotic Decisions Made By Former Newcastle Players
9. Tino Asprilla Showed His Love Of Guns A Little Too Publicly
Columbian striker Tino was never shy of attracting controversy, even when he was at Newcastle United: he was a big fixture on the social scenes, even before games, and continued to make appearances on the bongos in any nightclub that would have him years after he left. But it was away from the football pitch - and thankfully, mostly after he left Tyneside as a player that he became the unhinged character that he is now generally known to be. Asprilla famously has something of a fondness for guns, having taken a toy gun into training and "motivate" team-mates, and in 2008 used his hobby to gain vengeance against some over-zealous security guards who refused to let his friends through a check-point. Rather than writing a strongly worded letter, Tino went to confront the guards with his machine gun, and peppered their security post with 29 bullets. Immediately afterwards, he seemed to suggest that he was being framed:
"In fact, it reminds me of a movie that I once saw called Minority Report with Tom Cruise, in which people end up in jail even before you've committed the crime or even been tried."
Inevitably, he was arrested, though he bizarrely later claimed that he was released for being too difficult:
I spent 10 days in prison, then they couldnt handle me anymore..."
Tino did somewhat redeem his image by turning his back on a move to Darlington however, leaving definitely-not-dodgy George Reynolds gutted.
