HIDING in vegetation, impersonating team mates and dodgy drivers, these are the crimes of our favourite footballing stars who have proved over their careers that even they aren’t perfect, securing short and long-term deals behind bars.
10. Jermaine Pennant
Starting off our list is the former Arsenal man who secured a short-term sentence of three months in jail for smashing his Mercedes into a lamp post in 2005 whilst being under the influence of alcohol.
A pretty common crime for the winger who was playing for Birmingham City at the time and luckily he was released after just a third of his time was served.
9. Jamar Loza
The former Norwich player, who played for the Canaries between 2013 and 2016, has been jailed for 28 months for ‘sourcing and supplying’ nitrous oxide by the pallet.
Valuation figures of the psychoactive substance racked up to £10,000 per pallet, with the footballer saying he was “making so much money I don’t know what to do with it.”
8. Medi Abalimba
You may not think of him when you are asked to name a former Derby County player, but that may be because he wanted to be someone else. The former player was put in the slammer for four years after impersonating Chelsea midfielder Gaël Kakuta.
Under the guise of this persona, he ran into financial issues, racking up hotel and bar tabs over £160,000.
7. Shayne Bradley
This former Southampton player earnt his spot on this list after a being jailed in 2021 and this time for a rather unusual crime.
Bradley, a former striker, was arrested for stalking his ex-partner by setting up a fake dating profile and hiding in a hedge. This vegetation-based crime bagged him two and half years in jail.
6. Ulrich van Gobbel
Having played for Saints, Feyenoord and Galatasaray, Ulrich van Gobbel received a four-month jail sentence in the Netherlands relating to fraud over the sale of vehicles. How did he manage that you may ask?
Well, van Gobbel sold three cars that he had hired out from a rental company, he obviously did not have the right to sell the vehicles and was sentenced for the crime.
5. Nizar Trabelsi
From car fraud to terrorism, former Dusseldorf player Nizar Trabelsi was arrested for his part in planning an attack on a NATO air base in Belgium, being extradited to the US to face life in prison.
After his retirement from football, he managed to fit in a meeting with Osama Bin Laden and planned to ‘blow himself up’ at the Kleine Brogel base.
4. John Carling
In 2013 the former Dundee player was arrested at a KFC restaurant after getting in a fight over a chicken dinner. He also happened to be carrying a knife and was drunk, breaching a bail order that forced him to be sober.
If Carling did footballer crimes, fittingly this would be the story you would hear.
3. Rene Higuita
This former footballer was put behind bars for his part in a kidnapping involving notorious drug baron Pablo Escobar. His role was to deliver the ransom money and was paid for his services.
The law that he broke was a Colombian one that prevents you being able to profit from a kidnapping…if only he’d done it for free.
2. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas
Former Arsenal, Aberdeen and England professional Emmanuel-Thomas has just been jailed for four years after importing £600,000 worth of cannabis from Thailand to the UK.
He smuggled 60kg of drugs and was caught at London Stansted Airport in September, leading to his club Greenock Morton sacking the pro.
1. Raul Bravo
This crime involves two players, former Leeds man Raul Bravo and his ex-teammate, Darko Kovacevic, as Bravo reportedly hired a hitman to attack his former colleague.
He denied these claims and was jailed for a different crime, match-fixing and corruption. This petty crime saw him spend a night in jail before bail was paid at £100,000.
