An Austrian footballer, Dejan Ljubicic, who plays for the Austrian side Rapid Vienna, has tendered public apology after being caught on camera with an accomplice throwing beer bottles at a Mosque in Bosnia.
The pair appears to hurl several bottles into the distance before running back towards the car and driving away.
Police in the small town of Kiseljak reported an act of vandalism at the Mosque early next morning, leading to the arrest of Ljubicic and the other man before the 20-year-old midfielder apologised on the club’s official website.
“I don’t know what came over me and can only apologise and give assurance that I am very sorry for this mistake.
“I have also already apologised in person at the location and will naturally not only replace the damage done to the Mosque’s facade, but additionally make a donation to the local religious community.”
However the club’s Managing Director, Fredy Bickel, gave assurance that the player would be disciplined for his inexcusable behaviour.
“Such behaviour is absolutely inexcusable for a Rapid player, who should be aware of his great effect as a role model.”
“We will also talk personally with Dejan Ljubicic on the matter after his return from leave, it is clear that there will also be a punishment from the club.
“Ljubicic is a young man who sincerely regrets his wrongdoing.”
Ljubicic came into Vienna’s first-team this season after a loan at Austrian second division side Wiener Neustadt.
He has made 14 appearances in the T-Mobile Bundesliga this season, scoring two goals, as well as capping for Austria at the youth level.
Some players who have displayed “bad attitude”
While footballers are seen as celebrities and role models by some, the behaviour of a handful is nothing worthy of emulation, from alcoholism to assault, the list is endless.
Tony Adams;
This Gunner defender and Captain had a long shot with alcoholism which cast a shadow on his career as a footballer back in the 1980s.
He was often involved in fights at clubs, fight with fans, and at one time fell off the stairs, which led to 29 stitches on his head. He also played a match while drunk.
In 1990, he was involved in a car crash, after he had driven his car into a wall in Essex. It was later confirmed that his blood alcohol level was four times above the legal limit.
Adams was subsequently sentenced to four months in prison but was released after serving just half the sentence.
Odsonne Edouard;
The French teenager was caught on CCTV reportedly firing ‘Airsoft’ pellet at a passer-by’s face. The 19 year old was on loan to Toulouse from PSG when the incident occurred.
He however claimed he had lent his car to a friend and was not in the car, despite CCTV footage.
Rene Higuita;
While Rene ‘El Loco’ Higuita is credited for creating the Scorpion Kick, he is also infamous for his involvement in a kidnapping deal which was quite prevalent among drug cartels in Colombia.
The incident involved drug barons Pablo Escobar and Carlos Molina. Higuita acted as the go-between and delivered the ransom money to secure the release of Molina’s daughter, for which he was paid more than $60,000.
Colombian law prohibits anyone from profiting from kidnapping, thus Higuita was imprisoned.
As a result, he was not fit to play in the 1994 World Cup. When asked about the incident, he said, “I’m a footballer, I didn’t know anything about kidnapping laws.”
Marlon King
The Jamaican striker has a long list of infractions almost unbelievable for a football player. He has been convicted for a total of 14 offences; like theft, criminal damage, deception, speeding, drink driving and assault on women.
His first stint in prison was an 18 month sentence in 2002 for possessing stolen goods. The goods were in his BMW. He was playing for Gillingham at the time who continued to pay his salary while he was in jail. The clubs also helped in his appeal and brought down the sentence to just nine months. He was released after five.
In 2008, while he was at Wigan Athletic, he was arrested and convicted for sexual assault and causing harm when he punched a 20-year-old student. He was given another 18 month sentence and even placed on the sex offenders list for seven years.
In 2013, he was arrested twice for automobile accidents – the first a car crash that severely injured one person and the second for a hit-and-run incident which also injured a man.
Joey Barton;
Perhaps one of the most controversial players in modern day football, Joey Barton is known more for his ‘on and off the pitch’ violent behaviours than his skills.
Having won the Young Player of the Year award at Manchester City, Barton’s career went downhill due to many altercations. From hacking opposition players, to poking a teammate’s eye with a lit cigar, to breaking a pedestrian’s leg, a long list of offences that has ruined his reputation.
Barton was first convicted after a brutal assault in Liverpool; he got into an altercation with some youths in a restaurant after taking more alcohol than he should have. Barton knocked a man to the ground, straddling him and punching him multiple times. He then attacked a teenager, breaking his teeth. Barton was sentenced to six months in jail for the “violent and cowardly act”. However, he served only two and a half months of this sentence and was released.
The second sentence was four months long after he admitted to assaulting his teammate Ousmane Dabo at the Manchester City training ground. Dabo had pressed charges against Barton after Dabo was struck from behind and then repeatedly struck in the face while he was on the ground, leading him to his loss of consciousness and a detached retina. Barton also had to do 200 hours of community service and was banned by the FA.
