Wayne Rooney and Football's Rudest Verbal Assaults

The recent controversy caused by Wayne Rooney's verbal outburst at a camera has caused a great deal of debate over how swearing and the like should be dealt with in football. 

Here are some examples of bad language in football. Some are funny, some are serious—all of them were caught on camera.

Considering that swearing can be found at just about any football ground in the world and is clearly apparent if you have a television and some basic lip-reading skills, these are just a few of the more distinct incidents that I've remembered.

Feel free to suggest your own.

I'm sure there are many non-English language incidents, but my foreign language skills are limited. Again, any suggestions are welcomed!

After the Champions League semifinal between Chelsea and Barcelona, Didier Drogba felt a bit cheated.

He'd been subbed off, but ran back onto the pitch after the final whistle to complain to the referee about some unawarded penalty decisions. 

Once the referee had escaped, Drogba found the nearest camera and started ranting. He may have used a swear word, something Richard Keys was quick to apologise for.

More from him later.

Being Manchester United manager for 25 years must have put a lot of strain on Sir Alex.

During a Chelsea-Manchester United match, Fergie's assistant Mike Phelan decided to deal with a stray balloon.

Fergie wasn't aware of this and got a bit of a fright from the bang. However, unlike everyone else, who saw the funny side, Fergie had a quick swear at the already dead balloon. Harsh.

The video is censored, but use your lip reading. 

The old firm derby is always hotly contested and has indeed got out of hand in the past.

This season has seen some of the worst incidents in a number of years (is it just by chance that El Hadji Diouf turned up shortly before it all kicked off?).

Ally McCoist's comments in Neil Lennon's ear appeared to make the Celtic manager fairly angry, leading to a lengthy ban. McCoist received a shorter ban for his involvement.

Considering they weren't even on the pitch, it's not a bad effort. Diouf managed to get himself sent off after the final whistle.

The unrest at the match led to 34 arrests in the stadium and the Scottish first minister calling a peace conference. McCoist will take over as Rangers' manager next year. Expect more. 

Andy Gray and Richard Keys were staples of the Sky Sports football team for a long time.

However, that is not the case anymore.

In an incredibly high profile incident, recordings of their sexist rants came out. Quite rightly, they are no longer presenting Sky Sports football coverage. 

I can't quite understand how, immediately after going on a sexist rant, Richard Keys thought it an appropriate time to imply that sexism is not an issue in football. 

As if the sexism wasn't enough, I'm reliably informed that during the sections of white noise, Andy Gray is getting a spot of swearing in.

Wayne Rooney has always had a fiery temper—and he showed it again recently against West Ham.

Having suffered from a fair amount of criticism, Wayne's performance was proving the doubters wrong.

To celebrate this, he attempted to rub it in their faces, right in front of a camera.

The thing is, all it's done since is give those critics even more to work with.

Well played, Wayne.

His outburst, in the end, didn't really achieve much and instead earned him a hotly debated two-match ban.  

A wayward shot hits 'Arry while he's doing an interview, provoking the veteran manager's wrath.

Everything about this incident is perfect comedy—he leaves a slight pause, keeping his audience waiting, then launches his attack, before calming down and carrying on the interview as if nothing had happened.

The guilty footballer is James Keene, a former Portsmouth player.

Keene now plays in the Swedish Premier League—leaving the South Coast not long after this incident! 

ITV have earned themselves a reputation for not being the great broadcaster of live football (advert breaks during live play, anyone?).

During this season's FA Cup, Leeds United took up this chant whenever their matches were on ITV.

As bad as the language is, it's funny that the commentators don't have a clue what to say and are powerless to stop it. Getting insulted on your own television channel isn't a sign of great quality and is fairly embarrassing.