Four Premier League stars accused of deliberately missing Christmas fixtures

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Footballers typically don't get to choose when they get booked but many have been accused of deliberately picking up suspensions to get time off. Say a team has already qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League but their star player is nearing a suspension with one game left to play - they'll get booked.

Or someone could be playing through a knock while sitting on four bookings and will likely miss the next match to recover. They'll bring down an opponent, take the yellow and serve the ban when they'd be out of action anyway.

Perhaps the best time to be serving a suspension is over the festive period when you'd like to be spending time with friends and family. Another yellow card before Christmas and you may be able to enjoy the festivities without being at work.

Here, Mirror Football takes a look at four players who were accused of deliberately missing Boxing Day fixtures. However, it's important to note that these are all allegations and there is little to no evidence to support these claims.

The Arsenal icon will likely be putting his feet up and enjoying a 'Cobra Bomb' - his trademark drink of Cobra lager and Jagermeister - this Christmas.

But Parlour also enjoyed a nice festive period during his playing days 24 years ago. Ex-teammate Martin Keown accused his fellow Gunner of being booked deliberately during a Premier League match against Newcastle in December 2001.

Parlour was on four bookings and knew one more yellow card would see him miss the next fixture against Liverpool . However, this alleged plan backfired as the midfielder received two yellow cards, was sent off and Arsenal lost 3-1 at home to the Magpies.

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Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2016, Keown said: "I remember Ray Parlour being on four yellow cards and trying to get a booking against Newcastle in December 2001 to take him over the yellow-card limit.

"He ended up getting two yellow cards and was sent off which he wasn't trying to do."

It all worked out in the end, however, as Arsenal didn't lose another domestic league game that season and won their second title under Arsene Wenger .

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Lee Bowyer was known for his aggressive style of play and ended up missing eight festive games between 2002 and 2008 due to suspension. However, the midfielder continues to maintain his innocence and said the bans were just how he enjoyed the game.

Bowyer picked up 99 yellow cards in the Premier League with just two other players obtaining more bookings - Wayne Rooney (102) and Gareth Barry (123).

Speaking with Jermaine Jenas in an interview with Copa90 in 2018, Bowyer said: "The law of average says I'm going to miss a few!

"It's not like I purposely thought, 'I'm going to wipe this fella out now because I'm going to miss Boxing day'. You couldn't pull out of tackles. It was the way I played, I was on the edge all of the time."

He added: "Maybe it was the way it just totted up perfectly around that time."

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The West Ham star was accused of purposely picking up a ban after being suspended for the fifth consecutive December in 2013. All but one of these bans were handed to Nolan at the tail end of the month as well.

The ex-midfielder vehemently rejected these claims and even cancelled a festive party in 2013. Speaking to a West Ham fans forum, Nolan said: "I’ll be working hard on the training ground.

"I’m certainly not getting away with it. I’ll be in on Wednesday while all the other lads are off."

Then-coach Andwar Uddin hailed Nolan for cancelling his party . He said: "He's the club captain and you do whatever you see fit.

"I think it's a smart thing to do because it's like anything, when you're in a precarious situation and you're seen maybe having the time of your life in Dublin, it's probably not the best message to go out to the fans.

"I just think that says a lot about him. It says a lot about the club that they know about that and they understand that the fans do see them and have a perception of them in a certain way."

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One of the Premier League's greatest characters was suspended six times over the festive period in his playing days. Ruddock was even arrested after a West Ham Christmas party.

Like the above, Razor has continued to maintain his innocence both in terms of his arrest and his bans. Speaking to the Mirror in 2018, Ruddock said: "Looking back, it was madness.

"They always used to turn into two days. It’s no surprise they don’t let it happen now."

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