10 Most Notorious Long Bans In Football History

Sean Dempsey/PA Archive/Press Association ImagesEveryone knows footballers are a strange breed, and it's well documented that they're perversely fond of controversy, whether it's on the field or away from the glaring eyes of fans and Sky Sports cameras. Quite frankly, the history of the professional sport has proved beyond a doubt that the stars of the beautiful game are not scared of making themselves look incredibly stupid either. And often, those madcap actions produce lengthy suspensions from footballing governing bodies. We've seen another shining example recently, after Liverpool striker Luis Suarez decided to stop acting like a human being and sink his teeth into a fellow professional for what, quite unbelievably, is the third time the Uruguayan has bitten an opponent. This time, his decision to do it at the World Cup and in front of the biggest guaranteed football audience possible has resulted in him receiving a massive - though not unjustified - ban. Four months may seem lenient to some for acting like a wild animal, but it's a ban that will see him miss a hefty chunk of football and both domestic and international level, and it places some of the punishment on his parent club, ensuring that someone there might get him some lessons in deportment or something. However, it's far from the biggest ban ever imposed by football authorities over the years, with a number of stars having to even more football due to their lunatic actions - from acts of blatant cheating, to other acts as controversial as Suarez's infamous bites. From England to Chile, and from the World Cup to the Greek leagues, let's take a look at some of the biggest and most controversial football suspensions in history.