After calling the Swedish women’s team “a bunch of cowards” Hope Solo has received a six-month ban from her own national team.
Is that fair? Not everyone is convinced, so we’ve assembled a list to put it into context for you.
1. Luis Suarez – four months
The Uruguay and Barcelona star really did bring irony to the phrase once bitten, twice shy, having received bans for two biting incidents before he again sank his teeth into an opposition footballer; this time the unfortunate victim was Giorgio Chiellini.
Suarez was issued with a four-month ban, missing his side’s 2-0 defeat against Colombia in the last 16 of the World Cup, and returning to action for new club Barcelona in October.
The Uruguayan has kept his teeth out of other people’s business since, and finally seems to have learned his lesson. It just took a while to sink in.
2. Maria Sharapova – two years (before appeal)
Sharapova was caught out for use of the banned substance meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open, and subsequently banned for two years with an appeal due in September.
The five-time Grand Slam winner however was said to have been caught out by a change in the rules: the substance was only made illegal at the start of 2016.
Sharapova is a woman of many talents however, and was pictured outside Harvard Business School earlier in the summer, as well as being occupied with her new confectionery brand, Sugarpova. Who needs tennis!
3. Eric Cantona – nine months
Cantona had just been sent off for a kick on the field of play, when he proceeded to launch an infinitely more aggressive one at a fan in the stands in January 1995.
The United legend was booted from the game for the better part of a year, returning against Liverpool and scoring in the 2-2 draw.
On top of that, Manchester United went on to lose the title to Kenny Dalglish’s Blackburn by a single point. What a kick in the teeth.
4. Mohammad Amir – five years
An episode of cricket that contained more controversy than an EastEnders’ Christmas special, the Pakistan spot-fixing scandal was about as dramatic as cricket gets.
As part of a betting scandal which involved deliberately bowling no-balls during England’s innings, Amir was the youngest member of the trio involved, at 18. A fantastic swing bowler, Amir’s illegal deliveries stood out: “How far was that, wow!” proclaimed commentator Michael Holding.
Amir returned to Test cricket against England in July, six years after the incident. No more of that please Amir!
5. Lance Armstrong – lifetime ban
Described by some as the most sophisticated doping programme in history, and quite possibly the least surprising revelation since the Pope revealed he was Catholic, Lance Armstrong’s empire was eventually brought crashing down in 2012 when USADA announced it was filing doping charges against the seven-time winner of the Tour de France.
Armstrong’s network of lies and deception was unravelled in devastating fashion, with Nike and Oakley dropping the cyclist before the UCI stripped him of all seven Tour de France titles.
Armstrong was banned from competitive cycling for life, but presumably no one can stop him hopping on a bike or racing round a Mario Kart track on the Wii.
