Darwin Nunez and five headbutts that shocked football

FT Desk

• 16 Aug 2022 09:50 BST
• 5 min read

Darwin Nunez hit the headlines – no pun intended – for all the wrong reasons on Monday evening as he was sent off for a shocking headbutt during Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at Anfield.

FootballTransfers looks back at some of the most infamous headbutts in football history.

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Darwin Nunez: 2022

Darwin Nunez was the big signing of the 2022 summer transfer window as Liverpool splashed out a stunning €100 million to take him from Benfica.

Nunez started well in his opening couple of games for Liverpool, scoring in the Community Shield win over Man City and draw with Fulham.

But he lost the plot in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace as he allowed himself to be wound up by defender Joachim Andersen before headbutting the Dane in the face.

He was immediately sent off, leaving his team a man down for the rest of the game.

Zinedine Zidane: 2006

The most infamous headbutt in football history. Italy were taking on France in the final of the 2006 World Cup in Berlin. The scores were level at 1-1 in extra time, with Marco Materazzi’s header cancelling out Zinedine Zidane’s penalty.

The two players then clashed five minutes into the second period of extra time, with Materazzi trash-talking Zidane.

Zidane responded with a brutal headbutt into the chest of Materazzi, which sent him crashing to the ground.

The legendary Frenchman was sent off in what was the final game of his career, while Italy went on to win 5-3 on penalties to claim a fourth World Cup.

Ariel Ortega: 1998

Argentina have not won the World Cup for pushing on four decades now but things could have been different had Ariel Ortega not lost his mind in the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup.

The Argentines were drawing 1-1 with Netherlands heading towards extra time when Ortega reacted to being accused of diving by headbutting Edwin van der Sar.

Ortega was sent off and soon after Dennis Bergkamp would score one of the great World Cup goals to take the Netherlands into the semis.

Diego Maradona: 1984

It was a Diego Maradona headbutt that kicked off the most infamous fight on a football pitch ever witnessed.

The 1984 Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao was a fiery affair, with the Blaugrana’s star man Maradona kicked lumps out of throughout the game.

Maradona had history with the Basques as their hardman Andoni Goikoetxea had broken his ankle with a horror tackle the year before.

At the full-time whistle of a final Athletic won, Maradona squared up to Miguel Sola before headbutting him. The Argentine then elbowed another player and knocked out another with a knee to the head. This prompted a free-for-all, all in front of the watching King of Spain, Juan Carlos I.

Maradona was promptly sold to Napoli and the rest, as they say, is history.

Manuel Amoros: 1984

One of the first headbutts to shock football in front of a global audience. France hosted the 1984 European Championship and were keen to make a good impression in their opening game against Denmark.

However, right-back Manuel Amoros – who had been voted as the best young player at the World Cup two years earlier – did the complete opposite.

He connected with a vicious headbutt on Denmark winger Jesper Olsen and was immediately sent off.

This as good as ended his tournament as he was banned for three games, although he did return to play as a substitute in the final against Spain as France won their first major international tournament.