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Chris Rattue

Chris Rattue is a sports columnist for the New Zealand Herald.

10 of the funniest fines sport has slapped on its errant players

Photo / Thinkstock
Photo / Thinkstock

Warriors league fullback Sam Tomkins became the latest sporty type to be penalised for relieving himself in a public place. How boring. Here are 10 diverse ways that sport has found to fine its own.

1. My way on the highway

Legendary soccer manager Alex Ferguson heavily fined Aberdeen player John Hewitt for overtaking him on a public road. A couple of players catching a lift with the boss pointed out to "Furious" that the flash car going past was being driven by Hewitt. Ferguson apparently winked at other players before venting his supposed wrath on Hewitt in the treatment room. "He hadn't noticed until we started winding him up about it - he was just humming away to his Frank Sinatra tapes," recalled Alex McLeish. (Kids, ask your parents about tapes).

2. Water hazard

An un-named American college golfer was penalised $20 last year for an "extra benefits violation" after using campus water and a hose not available to regular students to wash her car.

The goody-two-shoes school actually self-reported the shocking violation to the NCAA.

3. Spot fine

Brian Clough, the brilliant/eccentric English club soccer manager, not only fined Nottingham Forest defender Kenny Burns 50 for playing a square ball across his penalty area, but sent another player racing to the office so the infringement notice was typed up and given to Burns at halftime.

4. Bad Penny

Florida Marlins baseballer Brad Penny bet a bat boy $500 that he couldn't drink a gallon of milk within an hour without spewing it back up. He was suspended for six days without pay ... the bat boy that is.

5. Slumped shoulders charge

An emotionally challenged New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez supported a system whereby he was fined for bad body language at practice.

6. Ratted out

Oakland Athletics baseballer Dave Kingman was docked $3500 in 1986 for sending a live rat in a box to a reporter named Sue Fornoff. A note tied to the rat stated "My name is Sue". .

7. Sweat the small stuff

A footnote to Barry Bonds' hugely controversial, steroids-tainted baseball career: the logo-sensitive MLB fined the star $5000 for wearing oversized wrist bands.

8. Another bad Korea move

The whacky basketballer Dennis Rodman was docked $50,000 after a loss in Utah during the 1997 finals for saying: "It's difficult to get in sync with all the f@#$%&* Mormons out here." His coach Phil Jackson claimed Rodman may have thought Mormon was a nickname for people from Utah.

9. Red card

Barcelona soccer superstar Lionel Messi was fined for a goal celebration which involved revealing a message on his vest wishing his mother happy birthday.

10. Unfortunate chain of events

Welsh soccer player Robbie Savage was hit with a 10,000 penalty for using the referee's toilet before a premier league game, even though he had diarrhoea.

- NZ Herald

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