Following Jamie Carragher's crazed leap into the Luton crowd at the weekend, eurosport.yahoo.com take a look at what happens when sports stars lose control.

Jamie Carragher, Liverpool, 2008 - The England defender took exception to Luton fans wearing curly wigs and yellow shellsuits - a clear homage to Harry Enfield's famous comic creation Scousers of the 1990's - during an FA Cup third round tie at Kenilworth Road and leapt onto a fence to ask his faux fellow Liverpudlians for a fight. "Come on, let's have it," Carra screamed. "Er, no thanks, you loon," was the apparent response.

Eric Cantona, Manchester United, 1995 - The most famous of all fan assaults in England, the Frenchman completely lost the plot after Crystal Palace supporter Mathew Simmonds hurled racist abuse during a match at Selhurst Park. Cantona proved just how mental he was by aiming a spectacular kung-fu kick over the advertising hoardings at his target before landing a few punches for good measure. Cue public outcry, a prison sentence that was later reduced to community service, some seagulls following trawlers and a ten month ban for Eric Le Roi.

Brian Clough, Nottingham Forest, 1989 - Ol' Big 'Ead was a proud man and when supporters invaded the pitch after a League Cup tie at the end of the 80's, he likened the high jinks at the City Ground to someone breaking into his own back garden and running amok. The result? A few clips round the ears for those who were silly enough to get near him.

Ron Artest, Indiana Pacers, 2004 - As the 'Malice at the Palace' goes a long way to prove, it is not just in the realms of football where players are liable to lash out at fans. A truly sensational brawl, the incident brought widespread condemnation for players from both the Pacers and their opponents at the Palace of Aubern Hills, the Detroit Pistons. Artest was the catalyst for the amazing scenes as he reacted to a cup of beer thrown from the stands by leaping into the crowd and swinging punches, but he was not the only one to blame - a total of nine players ultimately received suspensions. Disgraceful, yet utterly brilliant and compelling viewing.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan, 1997 - The controversial captain brought violence to the usually genteel game of cricket during the Sahara Cup in Toronto when he tried to assault an Indian fan who had been heckling him through a megaphone. Television pictures suggest a bat was brought to the boundary by the Pakistani 12th man and that Inzy was more than prepared to use it on the mouthy fan. Eye witness reports even stated at the time: "If not for the spectators and security staff curbing him, he would have broken the head of that guy." Serious stuff indeed, and the police charges reflected that - Inzy was initially charged with assault with a deadly weapon, although he ultimately received just a two-match ban.

Trevor Brennan, Toulouse, 2007 - There seems to be a theme running here - if you insult a player long and hard enough, he will eventually crack - and probably sock you one for your troubles. It happened again in France last year when the former Ireland flanker's patience ran out after he claimed Patrick Bamford, a London-based Ulster fan had made derogatory comments about his mother. However, the investigation into the incident found that the remarks actually centred on the quality of the bar Brennan runs in Toulouse. Brennan retired shortly after, presumably to concentrate on raising the standards of his bar to meet the requirements of particularly fussy and abusive customers.

Charles Woodson, Oakland Raiders, 1999 - Back over to the good old U, S of A where sporting dust-ups seem to be as widespread as Lindsay Lohan's, er, popularity. Cornerback Woodson got in touch with his inner child when he responded to the barrage of snowballs thrown at him by Denver Broncos fans by hurling one right back. Unfortunately, his particularly well-packed effort struck a female fan smack in the face which, as you can imagine, did not go down too well with the locals. To make matters worse, Raiders tackle Lincoln Kennedy punched another Broncos fan in the face in the same game. Only in America.

Coming soon - When fans fight back!

Mike Hytner / Eurosport