WE all know 2020 has been a year like no other – but we can still rely on sport to provide a sense of normality with explosive bust-ups galore.
From boxing heavyweights to fighting team-mates to Jurgen Klopp over and over again, the last 12 months have certainly delivered.
So SunSport takes a look back over some of the most bonkers, bizarre and brutal clashes of the year…
Hugo Lloris vs Son Heung-min
Where else can we start? Arguably the biggest in-match bust-up of the year came just before half-time in Spurs’ 1-0 win over Everton in July.
Spurs goalkeeper Lloris was furious with his team-mate’s failure to press and attempt to win the ball back.
And he raced up to Son as the teams headed down the tunnel, shouting furiously and shoving the South Korean – before things continued in the dressing room.
Roy Keane vs Jurgen Klopp
Just like in his playing days, Keane refuses to dodge an argument and is not afraid to speak his mind during his punditry.
The Sky Sports man labelled Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Arsenal in September as ‘sloppy’ with Klopp taking exception to the assessment and firing back – forcing Keane to clarify.
He added: “I said there were sloppy moments, but I think you have been outstanding, I’ve been giving the club nothing but praise. I’m not sure you’ve heard me correctly.”
The Irishman then muttered: “Very sensitive, imagine if he’d lost,” once Klopp had gone.
Keane also clashed with presenter Dave Jones over his beard as well as fellow pundits Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards.
Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev
Joshua got back inside the ropes for the first time in a year when he saw off Pulev in December.
But the Bulgarian certainly got under AJ’s skin at the weigh-in with his trash talk.
Tensions rose and tempers flared as the Brit branded his opponent a ‘p****’ and they were pulled apart.
Joshua had the last word, though, with a ninth-round knockout to retain his world titles.
Lionel Messi vs Barcelona
Messi’s fallout with the Barcelona board almost led to one of the most incredible transfers of all time.
Poor results on the pitch and power struggles off it, as well as the treatment of close pal Luis Suarez, led the captain and legend to hand in a transfer request and threaten legal action to force an exit.
Fans revolted and demanded president Josep Maria Bartomeu’s head instead – eventually getting their way as Messi made a dramatic U-turn to see out the final year of his contract.
But things are far from resolved and the six-time Ballon d’Or winner may well still leave the Nou Camp next summer.
Eric Dier vs Tottenham fan
In one of the most dramatic moments of the sporting year, Dier clambered his way up the stand at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following the FA Cup penalty shootout defeat to Norwich in March.
The England star’s frustrations boiled over at one fan’s repeated ‘f*** you’ right in front of Dier’s brother so he confronted him.
It landed Dier in hot water with the FA, who banned him for four matches and fined him £40,000.
Speaking on the Amazon Prime documentary, he said: ““Our parents have to stand there and have someone two rows in front call you a c*** and f***ing son of a b****, and a p**** and s*** and this — and they think it’s OK.”
Tyson Fury vs SPOTY
All the way back in February, in the pre-lockdown age, Fury dethroned Deontay Wilder to become WBC heavyweight champion of the world.
That spectacular night in Las Vegas earned the Gypsy King a spot on the six-name shortlist for the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award.
But he demanded he was removed – which the Beeb rejected – before telling his fans not to vote for him.
Thankfully for all involved, the public toed Fury’s line and crowned Lewis Hamilton the champ.
John Fury vs David Haye
Staying with the Fury family… despite his new love of poker, Haye insisted he doesn’t like to bet and was in no mood to accept Fury Sr’s wager.
In a fiery exchange before his son’s rematch with Wilder, Fury was willing to stump up £100,000 to back the Gypsy King – but Haye, who fancied the Bronze Bomber, was having none of it.
And John was back in November to challenge Haye yet again, this time offering odds of 2-1 that Fury Jr would beat Anthony Joshua – if he bet £1million.
Fury’s response? “No, let’s definitely not go with £1m.”
"Shall we start with £1,000,000?!"
"No, let's definitely not go with £1,000,000!"
Big John Fury tried to make ANOTHER bet with David Haye, this time about #FuryAJ…
Full episode of the Heavyweight Debate drops tomorrow night! pic.twitter.com/iXBMGJbMsn
— Boxing on BT Sport
(@BTSportBoxing) November 23, 2020
Jurgen Klopp vs Frank Lampard
Klopp has enjoyed his fair share of arguments over the course of 2020 – as well as lifting the Premier League trophy.
In fact, it was on the same night they finally got their hands on the silverware that Klopp and Lampard went at it on the touchline.
A questionable refereeing decision against Chelsea had the Blues boss seething and it resulted in a fiery exchange between the pair, with Lampard telling Klopp to ‘sit down’ before getting more irate when the Reds gaffer repeatedly instructed him to ‘calm down’.
Lampard then hit back: “If he’s going off at me I’ll f****** say something,” before turning to Klopp’s assistant Pep Lijnders and shouting: “You can f*** off and all.”
Afterwards, Lampard labelled Liverpool ‘arrogant’ while Klopp responded by warning his opposite number he ‘has a lot to learn’.
Danny Rose vs Jose Mourinho
The All or Nothing series also revealed details of Rose’s bust-up with manager Mourinho – which resulted in a loan to Newcastle last season and being outcasted to the Under-23s this term.
The left-back confronted his boss on a lack of playing time in Mourinho’s office at their Enfield training base.
Rose fumed: “Gaffer, I was just wondering what the problem is? You know exactly what I mean. How I’m being treated.
“You know I was very excited when you came in as manager but if you don’t want me to play I’d rather you just tell me now and I’ll stay at home gaffer and I’ll train at home.”
Gary Anderson vs Mensur Suljovic
There may not have been dressed-up Shreks, Christmas trees or bananas at Ally Pally this time around – but there is still plenty of spice.
Anderson hit out at Suljovic’s excruciating slow play and placing his darts on the wrong table in their December World Championship grudge match.
And the Flying Scotsman was so angry he threatened to QUIT the sport if he felt he was ever subjected to similar ‘joke’ gamesmanship tactics again.
Mark Noble vs West Ham
Noble let rip at his own employers when they announced the sale of exciting youngster Grady Diangana to rivals West Brom.
The decision sparked fury among the London club’s supporters – angry at one of their brightest prospects being offloaded to bring in funds.
Captain Noble took to Twitter to vent his frustration – with his tweet ‘liked’ by Declan Rice – saying: “As captain of this football club I’m gutted, angry and sad that Grady has left, great kid with a great future!”
Dani Ceballos vs David Luiz
Ceballos has certainly been at the thick of things off the pitch for Arsenal this season – more so than on it.
The Spaniard had been going in hard on some of the younger players, forcing Luiz and Rob Holding to step in during one training session in November.
But tempers boiled over to the point where a scuffle unfolded and the Brazilian drew blood from the on-loan midfielder’s face.
During the warm-up before the opening-day victory against Fulham back in September, Ceballos left a foot in on Eddie Nketiah resulting in a pushing match between the pair.
Nick Kyrgios vs Novak Djokovic & Alexander Zverev
One of the most controversial moves of 2020 was the organisation of the Adria Tour in Europe during the height of the pandemic.
World No1 Djokovic and other top players gathered with fans and no social distancing – then a number tested positive for coronavirus, including the Serb.
Outspoken Aussie Kyrgios slammed Djokovic as ‘bone-headed’ then labelled fellow pro Alexander Zverev as ‘selfish’ after he was spotted partying six days after saying he would self-isolate.
Djokovic’s disqualification from the US Open was also a major event of the sporting year as he was booted out of the tournament for carelessly hitting a ball into a line judge’s throat.
Jurgen Klopp vs Des Kelly
Klopp is back once again for his final bust-up of the year – as he went toe to toe with BT Sport’s Des Kelly.
In similar fashion to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer just weeks earlier, the Anfield boss raged at the broadcast company for scheduling his side in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off slot – citing the lack of recovery time for the high numbers of injuries to his squad.
But Kelly refused to back down and stood his, and the industry’s, ground admirably in the live on-air row.
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Mark Allen
O’Sullivan is never too far away from a spot of controversy and so it proved during his Champion of Champions quarter-final clash with Mark Allen in November.
The Rocket claimed his opponent had stood up and was ‘moving in my eyeline’ – but Allen strenuously denied any gamesmanship and accused O’Sullivan of ‘bullying’ behaviour.
But it was the Essex man who came off worse, going on to lose the frame and therefore the match.
What is going on there?!
Ronnie O'Sullivan isn't too pleased by Mark Allen supposedly moving within his eye line
@germanref soon gets involved: "No need for an argument. Can we please just play snooker?"
#ChampOfChamps pic.twitter.com/mo9NKthe9t
— Champion Of Champions (@ChampOfChamps) November 5, 2020
Karim Benzema vs Vincius Jr
As one of the most senior players at Real Madrid, it was not a great look from Benzema when he claimed team-mate Vinicius Jr was ‘playing against us’.
The French striker was talking to his compatriot Ferland Mendy in the tunnel at half-time of the 2-2 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League.
Benzema said: “Don’t play with him. On my mother’s life, he [Vinicius] is playing against us.”
Incredibly, boss Zinedine Zidane claimed his No9’s outburst was a ‘good thing’ and denied any rift between the two players.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic vs FIFA
Despite being used in EA Sports’ flagship game for years and years, suddenly Ibrahimovic decided he had had enough and kicked up a storm when FIFA 21 was released.
The Swede questioned how the developers managed to get the rights to his name and likeness for the game and called for an investigation.
Mino Raiola, Gareth Bale and allegedly another 300 players supported the move to get to the bottom of the issue – but EA defended their position due to the deals they have in place with clubs and leagues.
Other notable mentions must also go to Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn’s spat with his former man Kell Brook.
There is also the ongoing feud between Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United on one side with Paul Pogba and his agent Mino Raiola on the other as well as UFC man Colby Covington threatening to make LeBron James ‘eat the canvas’.
