'Maradona of the Carpathians' spat at ref, stamped on his feet and called him a 'thief'

Gheorghe Hagi was a wizard on the pitch, earning him the nickname the Maradona of the Carpathians - but he sometimes acted like him off the pitch too

Diego Maradona was a man of comparisons.

There was Maradona, the larger than life character who would make mistake after mistake while dazzling the world with talents on the pitch. And there was Diego, the boy from the slums of Buenos Aires who just wanted to kick a ball.

He's also become the comparison point for all tricky, diminutive, footballers. One such was Gheorghe Hagi - a man whose sparkling on field talent and scandals away from it earned him the nickname the "The Maradona of the Carpathians".

And Hagi's scandals and skills clashed in one moment of madness as he turned out for Galatasaray in 2001.

Hagi, who turns 60 on Tuesday (February 5), was less than happy after his goal against Genclerbirligi was disallowed. Before he was dragged away by team-mates, Hagi was able to spit at referee Erol Ersoy and then stamped on his feet.

"The ref's a thief," he fumed. "He came to steal three points off us but couldn't. I apologise, I lost myself."

Astonishingly, Hagi, two days after the incident, was only handed a six-game ban by the Turkish soccer federation. Before the incident, Hagi had hinted at retiring - and there were rumours, if a lengthy ban was handed out, it could have been his final actions as a footballer.

Hagi would hang up his boots that summer - briefly coming out of retirement to play one game in 2004.

He remains an icon in Turkey, with many considering him to be the greatest player to ever pull on the famous old shirt. And it's his time at Galatasaray he might look most fondly on despite spells with Real Madrid and Barcelona, and also played for Brescia in Italy.

Hagi's career is also fondly remembered in his homeland for a brilliant spell at Steua Bucharest, when he inspired them to the 1989 European Cup Final, before being beaten by AC Milan.