A certain Wigan Athletic player named Ryan Colclough grabbed all the headlines for a rather unusual reason earlier this week, missing out on a hat-trick in order to see the birth of his son.
The winger, who was subbed shortly after scoring his second goal of the night, managed to make it to the hospital with half an hour to spare.
We decided to look back at five of the biggest matches where a player has put their baby first:
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal v Mexico – July 2017)
Portugal’s talisman Cristiano Ronaldo missed his country’s third-place play-off match against Mexico at the Confederations Cup this summer to meet his newborn surrogate twins.
Almost immediately after their defeat to runners-up Chile in a penalty shootout the Real Madrid forward was given permission to miss the clash in Moscow. Ronaldo had been a key figure for his country at the tournament in Russia, winning three match-of-the-match awards during all of their group stage matches.
Until stoppage time it looked like Portugal had really missed the 32-year-old but then Pepe found an equalizer before an Adrien Silva penalty in extra-time saw them complete a valiant comeback and claim third place.
Martin Allen (Newcastle v QPR – March 1989)
Martin Allen was preparing for QPR’s clash away to Newcastle United when he received a phone call at two o’clock in the morning informing him that his wife Gabriella was due to give birth.
Just a few hours later Allen was on the first flight back to Heathrow making sure he was in hospital to see his son George.
The most striking fact about this example is the welcome he received after arriving back at training - When then QPR manager Trevor Francis handed him an envelope it wasn’t a message of congratulations but a fine for two week’s wages.
Chris Morris (Stafford Rangers v Stocksbridge Park Steels – January 2012)
Semi-professional football Chris Morris was notified 30 minutes into his game for Stafford Rangers that girlfriend Claire Anderson had gone to hospital.
Despite the news Morris carried on until half-time, scoring on his home debut against Stocksbridge Park Steels before rushing to see the birth of his daughter Savannah.
The 22-year-old, who was determined to be at his girlfriend’s bedside, arrived at the hospital still in his football kit. Rangers went on to record an emphatic 5-1 victory against Stocksbridge at Marston Road ground during their Evo-Stik Northern Premier League clash.
Andy Robertson (Liverpool v Arsenal – August 2017)
Andy Robertson was determined to see the birth of his first child so much so that he missed a major Premier League clash with Arsenal at Anfield.
The defender, who only joined the Reds this summer in a £10millon move from Hull City, was also jumping for joy after being announced in the Scotland squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania and Malta.
In the end the Merseyside club more than managed to cope in his absence, thrashing the Gunners 4-0 with goals from Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Daniel Sturridge comfortably securing the three points
Gareth Bale (Tottenham v Chelsea – October 2012)
Back during his days at Tottenham Gareth Bale missed a hugely important derby clash against Chelsea in order to be back in Cardiff to see his partner give birth.
The evening before Spurs fans were under the impression the Wales international was definitely going to be involved, with Bale being named in the starting 11.
After receiving a call just hours before the match, then Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas was forced to give Tom Huddlestone his first league start in 17 months whilst Clint Dempsey moved out onto the wing to fill Bale’s position. The game was a disappointing result for Tottenham as Chelsea cruised to a 4-2 victory at White Hart Lane.
