How four international footballers were punished because of foul language
Ghana goalkeeper Razak Brimah has come under fire after he released an expletive-laden rant on his Facebook page berating his critics on Monday.
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Brimah has since apologised for his comments but the debate on whether he should be allowed to remain with Ghana's national team at the AFCON 2017 in Gabon persists.
Although, the Ghana Football Association is yet to comment about his outbursts and if he will face any sanctions, many Ghanaians are already calling for his expulsion from the team following a precedent set with Las Palmas star Kevin-Prince Boateng in 2014 for insulting then Ghana coach Kwasi Appiah.
The calls for Brimah's expulsion have been led-by Ex-Kotoko chief Jarvis Peprah who told Oman FM yesterday that the Cordoba CF goalie should leave the Ghana camp before the Black Stars semi-final clash against the Indomitable Lions on Thursday.
Professional football is littered with players who lost their contracts because of bad behaviour of the pitch but how such players are treated varies in international football with sanctions ranging from bans to prison sentences.
Stefan Effenberg (Expelled from German national team for insuting fans)
One of the earliest instances of a national team footballer openly abusing his own fans was recorded at the 1994 FIFA World Cup when Bayern Munich star Stefan Effenberg was dropped from the team for showing German fans his middle finger.
The incident occurred during a group game against South Korea when he was substituted at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas with the Germans leading 3-2.
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It is reported that German coach Berti Vogts was so outraged by this incident that he dropped Effenberg from the team on the spot, and declared that he was finished as an international player.
Indeed, Effenberg didn't appear in another international match again until 1998, when was briefly re-instated to the national team for a couple of friendly matches in September, under Erich Ribbeck after Vogts was ousted as national team coach. They turned out to be his last caps for Germany.
Kevin-Prince Boateng (Expelled for insulting coach)
The German-born player was suspended indefinitely at the 2014 FIFA World Cup for targeting then Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah with vulgar verbal insults during a training session in Maceio.
The GFA appoved Appiah's decision to suspend the player, withdrew his accreditation for the competition and slapped him with an indefinite ban.
With only hours till the Stars faced portugal in a must-win final Group G match against Portugal, Boateng left the camp along with close pal Sulley Muntari who was also expelled for a physical attack on an Executive Committee Member, Moses Armah.
Abdullah Qassem (Jailed three months for insulting UAE national coach)
In a rather bizarre instance which occurred out of competition, United Arab Emirates footballer Abdullah Qassem was jailed three months after being found guilty of insulting national team boss Mahdi Ali.
Qassem and his Al-Dhafra teammate were found guilty of ‘using telecommunications services to offend and hurt the feelings of others, and displaying a recording that breached public ethics through the web.’
Qassem made indecent gestures and criticised the coach for not included him in the team and was sanctioned by the Abu Dhabi Court of Misdemeanours.
Michel Morganella (Expelled from 2012 Olympics for insulting opponents on Twitter)
Michel Morganella, 23, did not take kindly to losing to South Korea 2-1 at the 2012 Olympics and leveled racist insults at the victors on Twitter after the game.
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in the post, he said the South Koreans 'can go burn' and referred to them as a 'bunch of mongoloids.'
The Swiss Olympic delegation sent the defender home from the Games after he posted the message in the wake of the team's defeat.
Contact writer on Twitter: Kweku Zurek