Football players rarely get free weekends, but one current Premier League manager was able to line up his yellow cards in order to get one off and watch the golf.

Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Gary O’Neil once deliberately got himself suspended so he could watch golf at home.

Even though they were unexpectedly eliminated by Coventry City in the FA Cup quarterfinal, the former manager of Bournemouth has had a fantastic first season at Molineux. In addition to demonstrating his ability to lead a side through adversity, O’Neil has made a name for himself as one of the Premier League’s most vocal managers.

When it comes to VAR or Sky Blues manager Mark Robins’ celebration in front of a teenage ball boy, O’Neil isn’t hesitant to be brutally honest during press conferences and interviews. Middlesbrough supporters would be aware, as the Englishman previously acknowledged that he had suspended himself in order to watch the Masters while he was a player at Riverside Stadium.

2009 saw O’Neil play for Gareth Southgate’s Boro team lose 4-1 at Bolton Wanderers. At a time when Middlesbrough was deep in the relegation race, it was a crushing setback. O’Neil came up with an equalizer to bring Bolton back into the game just after Kevin Davies gave them the lead.

However, goals from Matt Taylor and Ricardo Gardner in the second half, as well as a strike from Gary Cahill on the cusp of halftime, left Boro staring up at the other teams in the league. O’Neil was booked for a foul on Gardner during the game, which was thought to have been motivated by annoyance.

Fans were unaware at the time that O’Neil deliberately scheduled himself in order to be suspended for the duration of the Masters since he knew he was just one yellow card away from a two-match suspension.

He acknowledged in a prior interview with the Hartlepool Mail that he had intentionally accepted one booking. not after Christmas. It was The Masters I wanted to watch. It was the US Masters in April. Even though I was only on nine yellows, I was certain to receive ten. We were playing someone, maybe Bolton.

“If I just get a yellow here, I can watch The Masters with my friends at home next weekend,” was my thought at the time. You may put your money on the fact that he is now controlling the Wolves. O’Neil is aware of each player’s number of bookings. The 2024 US Masters is scheduled for April 8–14, Sunday. Regretfully, Gary will have to film Saturday’s game and avoid watching the outcome because his team is going to Nottingham Forest. There won’t be any turning back this time.