Rijkaard Hits Völler

Sport's Spitting Scandals

During the second round match of the 1990 World Cup, Netherlands player Frank Rijkaard was whistled for a penalty against German player Rudi Völler that Rijkaard believed he didn’t commit. Angered by the call, Rijkaard spit from behind in Völler’s hair.

A teammate of Völler’s saw the attack and reported it to a ref who penalized Rijkaard again. Rijkaard reacted angrily yet again, pulling the hair of the German player who showed the referee.

Later in the game, Völler was seen provoking the Netherland’s goalie. Rijkaard, still enraged over what happened, pulled Völler’s ear and spit at his neck. Völler and Rijkaard began to fight but the scuffle was broken up quickly and the players were thrown out of the game.

On his way to the locker room, Rijkaard spit one last time at Völler. He was later suspended for three games.

(Getty Images)

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Spitting Scandal... Players are apt to scream, curse and throw a punch or two in the heat of the moment, but nothing is more insulting than spitting on another team's turf ... or another player.

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Roberto Alomar's... Roberto Alomar is remembered not only for being one of the greatest second basemen ever, but as the player who spit in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck in 1996. Alomar claimed Hirschbeck caused the incident by muttering a racial slur. Alomar also said Hirschbeck was bitter because the ump’s son died of ALD and another was recently diagnosed.
After hearing Alomar’s comments about his family, Hirshbeck was furious and had to be physically restrained. Alomar was suspended for the first five games of the 1997 season. After donating $50,000 to ALD research, the two spoke and put the incident behind them.
Alomar addressed what happened at his retirement, "That, to me, is over and done. It happened over nine years ago. We are now great friends. We have done some things with charity. God put us maybe in this situation for something. But I think people who know me, people who have had the chance to be with me on the same team, know what kind of person I am. Anything I ever did wrong, I would confront it and now it is OK."

(AP Photo/Dave Hammond)
Crowder Calls Ou... Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder entered the postgame locker room in a rage and accused Baltimore Ravens fullback Le'Ron McClain of spitting in his face during the third quarter of a 2010 game.
Crowder’s reaction, including comparing the referees to Stevie Wonder and Anne Frank, to the incident was so intense that fellow teammate Jake Long had the team ask Crowder not to comment publicly on the issue.
Despite the request, Crowder told reporters, "But Le'Ron McClain spit in my face. He spit in my face. That's some real ho s---. So if you talk to him, go tell him. And if he ever comes to Miami, he's got to see me."
McClain, who was never reprimanded, responded to Crowder’s claims, "We got into a little head-butt competition, but no spit, man," McClain said. "Probably me talking, I don't know. But all the spitting and all that ain't my game. I play ball in between the whistles.”

(AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Romanowski Spits... During the 1997 NFL season, Broncos linebacker Bill Romanowski spit in the face of 49ers wide receiver J.J. Stokes after Stokes confronted Romanowski for pulling on his groin in a post-play pileup.
Both the cameras and referees caught the incident, but the ref decided to let it go. Stokes was visibly stunned, Romanowski indifferent.
It wasn’t until after the game, when both fans and players expressed their outrage at the incident, did the league fine Romanowski $75,000.

(AP Photo/Bob Galbraith)
Wisconsin Fans S... In February of 2011, Ohio State freshman Jared Sullinger revealed to the Twitter world that fans had spit on him before and after his No. 1 ranked team lost 76-71 in Wisconsin.
“#BuckeyeNation if you ever decide to rush the court. Don’t ever spit on the opponents. Just a lil tip from me to you,” Sullinger tweeted.
He added, “To be spit on is just nasty. On top of that in my Face. Before and After the game. Smh. I just kept walking. More fuel to the fire.”

(AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Charles Barkley'... During a in March 1991 overtime game, a courtside fan had been yelling racial slurs at Charles Barkley. Eventually, Barkley had enough of the insults and turned to spit at the heckler.
He missed his target, hitting a nearby young girl. Barkley claims the miss occurred because he didn’t "get enough foam.”
Barkley was suspended without pay and forced to pay a $10,000 fine. The press had a field day with the incident.
Barkley quickly apologized to the girl and her family. He provided them with tickets to future games and kept in touch.
After his career was finished, he commented on the issue. "I was fairly controversial, I guess, but I regret only one thing — the spitting incident. But you know what? It taught me a valuable lesson. It taught me that I was getting way too intense during the game. It let me know I wanted to win way too bad. I had to calm down. I wanted to win at all costs. Instead of playing the game the right way and respecting the game, I only thought about winning." (AP Photo)
Tiger's Dubai Sp... The most recent spitter on our list is Tiger Woods. Tiger spit on the 12th hole after missing a par putt on his way to a 3-over 75 during the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic in February 2011.
Tournament director Mike Stewart reviewed the incident and "feels there has been a breach of the tour code of conduct."
The tournament hosts were outraged by Wood’s actions and issued the golfer a fine. While the actual amount was not disclosed, the fine is estimated to be in the range of $400-$16,000.
Tiger responded to the punishment via Twitter, "The Euro Tour is right — it was inconsiderate to spit like that and I know better, just wasn't thinking and want to say I'm sorry."

(AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
'The Boyfriend' Perhaps the most talked about spitting incident in sports occurred on one of the greatest television shows of all time, “Seinfeld.”
Kramer and Newman accuse Keith Hernandez of spitting on them during a Mets game at Shea Stadium in the 1980s. Jerry, who idolizes Keith Hernandez and wants to make a good impression, supports a JFK assassination-esque "second-spitter theory."
Seinfeld said this 1992 episode of the show, called “The Boyfriend,” is his favorite of the entire series.

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Game...Set...Spi... Romanian tennis player Victor Hanescu was accused of spitting at fans during Wimbledon. During his match against German player Daniel Brand, Hanescu was offended by spectator heckling and took the matter into his own hands by spitting on the crowd. He quit the match early due to a leg injury.
Tournament officials confirmed the incident and issued Hanescu a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct with a fine upwards of $10,000.

(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
LaRon Landry's D... Eagles center Mike McGlynn said that Redskins safety LaRon Landry spit on him twice during a November 2010 game. "He got his," McGlynn said. "We got after him pretty good. The things that he did during the game, spitting on me twice … I don't have no respect for that. There's no place for that in our game."
The bad blood between the Eagles and Landry began when Landry and teammate DeAngelo Hall mocked Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson for a concussion he suffered earlier in the season.
A pregame scuffle between Jackson and Landry and an 88-yard run on the first play of the game by Jackson may have been the cause for Landry’s spit-filled game.

(AP Photo/Rob Carr)
Spadaro Spits on... David Spadaro, the guy behind the Philadelphia Eagles’ website, grabbed headlines after videotaping himself spitting on the Dallas Cowboys' star.
The spit-tape sparked outrage among the public despite the fact that Spadaro is not a player or coach for the team. As an employee of the Eagles, he was expected to act with a level of professionalism and many felt his actions crossed that line.
Spadaro apologized for his actions, saying “As you may have seen, I went too far with my Spudcam video prior to Sunday's game against the Cowboys. Acting alone, and without permission from the Eagles organization, I walked out to the middle of the field at Cowboys Stadium and spit on the Cowboys star, and for that I deeply apologize to the outstanding Cowboys organization and the fine people there, from Jerry Jones to the rest of the team."
He added, "I won't ever do it again and I just went over the line of professionalism. The fans have really taken this thing and had a good time with it but it has been a difficult couple of days and I embarrassed the Eagles organization, I embarrassed myself and, for that, I am truly sorry."

(AP Photo)
T.O.'s Spittasti... Back in 2006, when Terrell Owens wasn’t one half of T.Ocho and played for the Dallas Cowboys, he was fined $35,000 by the NFL for spitting in the face of Atlanta cornerback DeAngelo Hall.
Hall was not happy with Owen’s punishment, "I think, for what he did, he deserves more than a fine," Hall said. "The guy has all the money in the world. He's making $10 million or whatever this year. So what's a fine going to mean to him, really? What he did, it was … you know? But he's a great player, a great competitor, and what would hurt him a lot more than a fine is making him sit. That would get his attention. And that's what I think the league should do. They need to do something pretty severe because there's something wrong with him, and he just can't get away with this kind of stuff."
Owens never apologized and maintains that he didn’t intentionally spit in Hall’s face.

(AP Photo/Rob Carr)
Ronaldo's Rage Cristiano Ronaldo, captain of the Portuguese national team, was unhappy with his team's performance in the 2010 World Cup. As Ronaldo walked off the field after the team’s defeat and elimination from the tournament, he spit at a nearby cameraman.
Many fans questioned the team’s choice of Ronaldo as captain after seeing video of the incident. Portugal’s coach stood by his player, saying "He is our leader. He is our captain. This is a decision that belongs to the federation and national coach. Because we did that, you have to believe we did it for the right reason and that he could do it."

(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Rijkaard Hits Vö... During the second round match of the 1990 World Cup, Netherlands player Frank Rijkaard was whistled for a penalty against German player Rudi Völler that Rijkaard believed he didn’t commit. Angered by the call, Rijkaard spit from behind in Völler’s hair.
A teammate of Völler’s saw the attack and reported it to a ref who penalized Rijkaard again. Rijkaard reacted angrily yet again, pulling the hair of the German player who showed the referee.
Later in the game, Völler was seen provoking the Netherland’s goalie. Rijkaard, still enraged over what happened, pulled Völler’s ear and spit at his neck. Völler and Rijkaard began to fight but the scuffle was broken up quickly and the players were thrown out of the game.
On his way to the locker room, Rijkaard spit one last time at Völler. He was later suspended for three games.

(Getty Images)
Yankee Fans Spit... Disclaimer: Cliff Lee has denied all rumors that Yankee fans spit on his wife.
It was reported in October 2010 that the wife of then Ranger’s pitcher Cliff Lee’s, Kristen, was spit on by Yankee fans during the American League Championship Series games in New York.
Kristen Lee spoke with USA Today about the incident, saying "The fans did not do good things in my heart. When people are staring at you, and saying horrible things, it's hard not to take it personal."
Cliff added, "Some people get a little alcohol in them and act inappropriate. There's so many people there you can't control them all. I know it's been made into a big deal, but that's really all it is, just two or three or four people just acting like fools, and 50,000, you can't group them all together. But there's always going to be a couple goofballs in the crowd that think they have a right to do that stuff."

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Terry Spits On T... During the 2008 World Cup Final, a spitting scandal erupted involving England's John Terry and Argentina's Carlos Tevez. Video footage shows Terry approaching Tevez and wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Moments later Tevez puts his hand to the back of his neck. Some speculate that Terry spit on Tevez’s neck following his team’s loss. Others say the “evidence” is inconclusive.

(AP Photo)
Sports Outbursts... Check out some of the worst temper tantrums in sports' history here.