VINNIE JONES

THE ultimate soccer hardman Vinnie Jones was a headcase on AND off the field.

The Wimbledon midfielder’s reputation was cemented in 1987 when he was snapped grabbing Newcastle’s Paul Gascoigne by the knackers during a match.

But as well as hard tackles and brutal fouls it’s his antics off the field that earns him a place in Bonkers FC.

His first controversy came with the release of Soccer’s Hard Men, a video giving tips and advice on how to foul and get away with it. The FA fined him £20,000 for bringing the game into disrepute.

In 1995 he bit a tabloid reporter on the nose during a night out in Dublin, he was convicted of ABH during a dispute over a stile, in 2008 he was involved in a bar brawl in South Dakota that “Left my nose hanging off”, and in 2003 was sentenced to 809 hours community service for an air rage attack.

But Balotelli should take note, despite all his bad behaviour Vinnie, 47, is now a Hollywood film star whose titles include Snatch, X Men and Mean Machine.