IT'S the season of good cheer, and that's been the case for Premier League footballers over the past weeks as they let loose at club Christmas parties before a huge festive fixture list.
But these events can often get out of hand, as was the case with one Premier League star who ended up sacked as a result of his antics at his club's celebrations.
Denmark midfielder Stig Tofting, 54, arrived at Bolton Wanderers in 2002 with his fair share of baggage, having been given a suspended jail sentence for assault in 1999.
Then when he was on the books of Sam Allardyce's side he was sent to prison for four months after headbutting a Copenhagen cafe owner during Denmark's post-2002 World Cup celebrations.
That incident led to his Bolton contract being shortened and his eventual release in June 2003.
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After a spell in China, Tofting moved back to his homeland and joined AGF Aarhus in 2004.
However, during a Christmas lunch, he was reported to have punched four of his team-mates after his shirt was ripped.
In a 2018 interview with the Daily Mail, Tofting did his best to play down the incident.
The former midfield enforcer, who was nicknamed The Lawnmower for covering every blade of grass on the field, said: "The Rumble in the Jungle? One of my team-mates tore my shirt, so we had a fight.
"There was a clause in my contract that, if I did something to harm the club, they could sack me. So they sacked me."
Though Tofting was plagued by controversy off the pitch during his playing days, he has enjoyed a successful post-playing career as a pundit in Denmark.
And he also entered into the world of celebrity boxing.
The Dane, who won his first fight against a reality TV star in eight seconds, said: "He was nothing, my little boy could have knocked him out."
However, in his second bout, Tofting would fight on the undercard of former undisputed heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield.
He said: "My opponent was 15 kilos heavier and he used to box.
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"I knocked him down in the first round. I should have finished him, I had him.
"It went four rounds and it was a draw, my perfect record gone! But to get in that ring, it’s terrifying."
CHILDHOOD TRAUMA
Many of Tofting's violent outbursts may be explained by the childhood trauma of his father shooting his mother and then killing himself when he was just 13.
But today he has managed to make his peace with the horrific incident as best he can, and even now has a tattoo saying 'No Regrets' across his chest.
Tofting said: "I learned to live with the memory of that day.
"In that situation, I could not do anything. There were two other possibilities — if I had been at home, maybe I could have prevented it, but if not, I could have gone as well, and I wouldn’t be here now."
Interestingly, one of the few people able to intimidate him after he endured such a tough life was ex-boss Sam Allardyce.
Tofting commented: "My first game against West Ham, we came in at half-time and he was angry.
"I remember his hands, twice as big as mine. He punched the tactics board and kicked the bag of balls. He was screaming. I liked it.
"I was trying not to laugh, I had my mouth inside my shirt. I thought, 'Oh f***, if he sees me he’s going to kick my a***'.
"We won 1-0! I thought, 'I’m in the right place here'."
