1 week Ago By Callum Bishop
Cantona's infamous kung-fu kick on a Crystal Palace fan led to a reduced jail sentence and a nine-month ban from the FA. Despite the severity of the incident, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson did not lay into Cantona, focusing instead on criticising his team's performance. Cantona's ban and punishment led to him being banned from playing for the French national team, but he ultimately made a comeback for Manchester United.
It's been 30 years since one of the craziest moments in Premier League history - Eric Cantona kung-fu kicked a Crystal Palace fan during a Manchester United match. After getting abused by Palace fan, Matthew Simmons, in the middle of a match, Cantona lost his head and jumped into the crowd to attack the supporter. The event was highly publicized and saw the Frenchman receive an initial two-week jail sentence which was later reduced to 120 hours of community service.
It also earned him a nine-month ban from the FA. The match actually ended 1-1 at Selhurst Park. David May had given United the lead in the second half but Palace equalised through Gareth Southgate with 10 minutes remaining.
Naturally, the match was overshadowed by the events that took place. So, how did Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson react to the situation? The legendary Scot was famous for his brutal hairdryer treatment and no-nonsense attitude. It stands to reason that he would understandably lay into his star striker for his alleged assault.
However, that's not exactly what happened according to multiple United players who were part of the squad that day. Sir Alex Ferguson's Reaction to Kung-Fu Kick According to former United winger Lee Sharpe, the 83-year-old had some strong words for his team following their performance. Sharpe recounted : "The manager comes in and he's absolutely fuming.
The door smashes off the back of its hinges. The jacket is off, he's got the short sleeves rolled up; steam coming out of his ears and frothing at the mouth. "There are benches in the middle of the room with shirts and balls to be signed.
Cups of tea and plates of sandwiches. They're sent f****** flying everywhere. We're getting scalded and getting egg sandwiches down the back of our necks.
We look at each other, thinking, f****** hell, Cantona is getting it here! "And then he starts, the manager. F****** Pallister, you can't head anything, you can't tackle. Incey, where the f*** have you been? Sharpey, my grandmother runs f****** faster than you! You're all a f****** disgrace.
"Nine o'clock, tomorrow morning, I'm going to run your f****** balls off in training. F****** shocking. And Eric.
You can't go around doing things like that son." Although the idea that Ferguson could be furious with his team but calm towards Cantona seems ridiculous, Sharpe's version of events has also been backed up by Andy Cole. The Englishman had only just joined the Red Devils at the time of the event and recalls very similar circumstances to his former teammate.
"When it did happen, I wasn’t even sure what was going on if I am being brutally honest. I was kind of in the middle of the pitch, but I wasn’t sure if a punter ran on and started on Eric or Eric did what he did. "I didn’t see the incident properly until I saw the incident on TV and that’s when I said to myself, ‘wow’.
Some of the boys were saying, ‘the gaffer is going to lose it now’. I remember the gaffer came in and he was absolutely fuming, the game ended 1-1. We dropped two points, didn’t win the game and he is fuming.
"He started to have a barney at a few people and then he said to Eric, ‘what are you thinking? You can’t go round doing things like that. Everyone sat in there in the dressing room and just went, ‘Nah’." Was this just a case of Sir Alex being more infuriated by his team's failure to win as opposed to his star man's actions? Possibility.
However, this is not the only time the Scotsman showed Cantona what many believed to be preferential treatment. The Frenchman himself has even alluded to the fact that this treatment is what pushed him to work hard for his manager. The Aftermath of the Kung-Fu Kick The Frenchman was arrested following the game at Selhurst Park and pleaded guilty to assault.
He initially received a two week prison sentence, but this was reduced to 120 hours of community service upon appeal. The overturning of his jail time led to the birth of one of the most bizarre and famous quotes in football. During a press conference, 'The King' told journalists 'when the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.
' In the footballing world, the United number 7 was banned by his club until the end of the season and was also given a two-week wage fine. That was not enough for the FA, who added further punishment. They suspended Cantona until the end of September 1995.
As a result of the attack, the enigmatic forward was also banned from competing for the French national team and would never play for Les Blues again. The then 28-year-old left returned to France and vowed to not play for Manchester United again. After a conversation with his manager, Cantona ultimately did make a comeback.
He would start for Manchester United against Liverpool on the 1st October, 1995. As always, the Frenchman stole the headlines, scoring a penalty to salvage a point for his team and celebrating by pretending to jump into the crowd. Although Cantona was condemned for his actions, he would later receive support from football fans around the world after more information was brought to light.
It was revealed that the man he attacked, Matthew Simmons, had actually directed racist language towards the player and also had a criminal record. When this was discovered, Simmons received a £500 fine and was given a one-year stadium ban. This would lead to him attacking Cantona's lawyer whilst protesting his innocence.
As a result, Simmons would land himself in jail for a week, ironically longer than anytime his assaulter spent behind bars. In the years that have followed, the former Leeds and Marseille striker has spoken about his feelings towards the incident. He seemingly has very little regret for what happened, saying in previous interviews : "My best moment? I have a lot of good moments, but the one I prefer is when I kicked the hooligan.
"I have one regret. I would have loved to have kicked him even harder.".
