Australian footballer Kevin Muscat has laid claim to one of the sport’s worst ever fouls following this horror challenge at the weekend.
The centre-half was playing for Melbourne Victory at the weekend when he lunged at Melbourne Heart’s Adrian Zahra – nearly slicing the player in half
Muscat, 37, then had the temerity to yell towards the referee when he was handed an instant red card for the challenge, which catapulted Zahra into mid-air before leaving the winger sprawled out over the floor.
It was initially thought Zahra had torn his knee ligaments but he only suffered partial tears. Former Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich described the challenge as “disgraceful”.
Officials are considering handing the former Millwall hardman a six-game ban for the challenge – which has been viewed more than one million times on Youtube since the weekend.
Muscat has apologised for the “dreadfully mistimed” tackle, but it’s just the latest in a long line of incidents to mar the veteran’s career.
The defender, who has represented Australia 51 times and played in England for Millwall, Wolves and Crystal Palace, has a reputation as an extremely tough tackler.
He has been branded “probably the most hated man in football” with his challenges resulting in serious injuries to Craig Bellamy and Christophe Dugarry.
Former Charlton midfielder Matthew Holmes was awarded damages of £250,000 at the High Court in 2004 following a tackle by defender Muscat.