Hardman dubbed 'the most hated man in football' was given eight-week ban for horrific tackle that led to retirement

Kevin Muscat was once given an eight-week ban for a horrific tackle.

Former Millwall, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Rangers star Muscat is widely considered to be among the filthiest players to grace the game.

Indeed, ex-Birmingham player Martin Grainger described the Australian as the “the most hated man in football” after a reckless challenge on Australia teammate Star Lazaridis.

And back in 2011, when Muscat was 37-years-old and playing in the Australian A-League for Melbourne Victory, he received an eight week ban for a dangerous tackle on Melbourne Heart’s Adrian Zahra.

In a statement issued at a Football Federation Australia disciplinary hearing, Muscat said he “deeply regretted” the tackle and had not intended to injure Zahra.

But the committee found against him and said he had acted “with complete disregard to the danger to, or consequences for, his opponent.”

They added: “So far as reckless conduct is concerned this was at the higher range of culpability.”

Muscat did not play football again.

Muscat was dealt a space of suspensions throughout his career, while Charlton’s Matty Holmes even took legal action against the player after undergoing repeated leg surgeries after sustaining a tackle by Muscat in a 1998 FA Cup game.

Kevin Muscat earned a reputation as one of the dirtiest players of his generation (Getty)

He has since become a manager, as in currently in charge of Chinese Super League side Shanghai Port.

The 51-year-old’s coaching philosophy is far more cultured than his playing style.

"I want to be involved in teams that play a certain brand of football and that maybe contradicts what most people perceive to my playing days," Muscat recently told AFP in 2022.

"I'm trying to forge my own way in terms of the way I coach, the way I manage and the way my teams play.

"That's really all I can do."