Nine Wild Football Nights Out: Taxi Gate, Dentist Chair, FBI & More

Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood may have grabbed headlines for the wrong reasons while on England duty, but their escapades pale in comparison to some legendary nights out of yesteryear. Football was once synonymous with boozy bonding trips and renegade behaviour. Even in the ultra‑professional modern era, plenty of players still push the limits. Let’s relive nine of the most outrageous nights out in football history.

Derby County – Team Bonding Gone Wrong (September 2019)

Derby County organised a team night out – bowling, dinner, drinks, and provided cars to drive players home. Some players carried on drinking instead.

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Scott Malone was filmed asleep, Mason Bennett was vomiting into a urinal, and then Bennett decided to drive himself home with Richard Keogh as passenger. Tom Lawrence also drove himself.

The result was a crash between the two cars, with Keogh suffering a career‑threatening knee injury. Lawrence and Bennett faced drink‑driving charges. A supposed bonding session turned into a public relations disaster.

West Bromwich Albion – The Stolen Taxi Debacle

Imagine asking a taxi driver to get you McDonald’s because you are too drunk to be served, and then driving the taxi yourself back to the hotel.

That is exactly what Gareth Barry, Jonny Evans, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill did in Spain. They failed to realise the driver might actually want his car back. Despite initial reactions, none of the fans expected Barry and Evans—of all people—to pull off such a stunt.

Tales of questionable decision‑making and midnight munchies, courtesy of West Brom.

Peter Beagrie – Wrong Hotel, Wrecked Windows (1991)

After Everton’s pre‑season friendly with Real Sociedad in Spain, Peter Beagrie spent too long in a bar. Locked out of his hotel and unable to wake the night porter, he flagged down a local motorbike. He hopped on and drove through the front windows of the wrong hotel. The winger ended up with 50 stitches.

One wrong turn, one broken door, and one unforgettable souvenir. Everton fans still shake their heads in disbelief.

The Dentist Chair – England Tour, Hong Kong (Ahead of Euro 1996)

England manager Terry Venables allowed a night out in Hong Kong with coach Bryan Robson trusted to keep an eye on the players. Robson stood in the bar with a pint as someone ripped the rest of his shirt clean off.

As goalkeeper Ian Walker recalled, “Bryan Robson was standing there with a pint, and he was wearing one of those shirts with a round collar, and someone grabbed it and ripped it. All he had left was the little round collar – the rest of it had gone. And he just carried on drinking like nothing had happened! He was supposed to be looking after us, so from then on it went a bit mad. And then someone found a dentist chair in another room. So of course – bang! – straight away we’re on it. I think Gazza went on first, then I had a go, then Teddy Sheringham. Then it all went off, just bedlam.”

Pictures hit the press soon after, and what followed became one of England’s most iconic off‑duty stories and the inspiration behind one of the greatest celebrations in football history.

Craig Bellamy & John Arne Riise – Karaoke Bar Prank

On a pre‑match tour stop, Liverpool teammates Bellamy and Riise ended up in a karaoke bar incident that led to one of the welcome moments in Liverpool’s Champions League victory at Camp Nou. Riise refused to sing, but Bellamy had other ideas.

Riise recalled, “When he grabbed the microphone and said again, ‘Ginge is coming up to sing.’ I went up to his face and told him clearly I wouldn’t be and to stop it. I left and went back to my room. I was rooming with Daniel Agger. When I heard the key in the door I thought it was Dan coming back, but then the lights went on. Next thing I saw was a golf club smashing me on my backside. I jumped out of bed and was stood in my underwear while Bellamy was there shouting. He just said, ‘9 am tomorrow outside my room.’ I got there for 8.45 am and waited until 9.10 am, but there was no sign of him.”

Liverpool then beat Barcelona 2–1 at the Camp Nou with goals from Bellamy and Riise, who celebrated in style.

Diego Maradona – Naples Night Out

El Diego wrote the handbook on wild nights. In 2017 he returned to Naples to receive honorary citizenship. After appearing to struggle cutting a cake, he ended the night atop a van, chanting, “Whoever is not cheering is a Juventus fan!”

The fans chanted back. Caps flew off. This was Maradona in full, unapologetic party mode.

Paul Merson – FBI Moment in the USA

Playing for England in America in 1994 World Cup qualifiers seemed like a holiday until it wasn’t.

Paul Merson told the podcast, “We went to Boston, we went to Washington and then we went to Detroit. And you know you can’t qualify. It was like the best holiday I’ve ever been on. It was like an 18‑30, I’d never been on anything like it in my life. We go Washington, we’re playing cards all night: me, Teddy Sheringham, Carlton Palmer. Then they all went to bed and I went out.

So I get downstairs, turn left, bang, in a bar, absolutely para. I leave the bar and there’s two geezers arguing in the middle of the road. I go up to them and go, ‘Come on, lads, let’s not start fighting.’ They’re looking at me like I’m an absolute nutcase. I just walk off to bed. I get up in the morning and we have a big meeting with the FBI.

They get us all down, the FBI have all got their caps on and everything and they go, ‘Whatever happens, you’re in the capital of the world of killings, do not come out of this hotel at night and turn left.’ The night before I’m breaking up a fight in the middle of the street. How I never got shot I do not know.”

Ray Parlour – French Tour Tales

Arsenal legends and incidentally great storytellers cross paths. Ray Parlour recounted Arsenal’s first pre‑season tour under Arsène Wenger: “New French lads had come into the team like Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit and Gilles Grimandi. We worked our socks off and at the end of the trip Wenger said we could all go out. You know what we were like, we went straight down to the pub and the French lads went to the coffee shop. I’ll always remember the moment Steve Bould went up to the bar and ordered 35 pints for five of us.

After we left the bar we spotted all the French lads in the coffee shop and they were sitting around smoking. I thought, ‘How are we going to win the league this year? We’re all drunk and they’re all smoking.’ And we ended up winning the double that year.”

Stuart McCall – Bradford City Promotion Festival (1999)

McCall celebrated Bradford City’s promotion to the Premier League in 1999 with days of post‑promotion revelry.

He admitted the celebrations lasted so long the results seem almost mythical today. Bradford went on to play in the Premier League that season, and McCall’s nights out remain part of promotion folklore.

Final Whistle

Football nights out can go from bonding to bedlam in seconds. These nine stories show times when celebrations pivoted into chaos—injuries, fines, bizarre escapades, and unforgettable legends.

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