The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 316 The King's Flying Kick

"I don't know if it was the right thing to do, but if I were in that situation again, I would do it again without a doubt. I think it was the most rewarding thing to do in my career and the best moment in my memory."

——Eric Cantona

On January 1995, 1, the Red Devils played away against Crystal Palace, which was the 26th round of the Premier League.

For Cantona, this was supposed to be a very ordinary game. Three days ago, the Red Devils played against Blackburn at home, and Cantona started. In that game, Ferguson's team played very hard, the opponent was very strong, and they used all their strength. Cantona performed well in the game. He continued to be in peak form and finally scored the only goal to help the Red Devils defeat the opponent. He single-handedly decided the result of the game and became the man of the match.

Cantona enjoyed the cheers of the Red Devils fans, but was also hated for his outstanding performance and endured all kinds of ridicule and scolding from the opposing fans.

It is normal to be unpopular with the opposing fans, and all players are used to it. But being cursed and attacked by the opposing fans, being fouled and even physically hurt by the opposing players are commonplace for Cantona. Since this season, or even earlier, Cantona has felt all kinds of malice. As a French player, a player who came to England with the reputation of a bad boy, a player who was considered a betrayal by the previous team, Cantona is naturally prepared. Since joining the Red Devils, he has been fouled, attacked, humiliated, and abused. In addition to various opposing teams, opposing players and fans, referees, and security personnel outside the stadium are all Cantona's enemies. The most extreme case was that Cantona was even beaten by the police when the Red Devils went to Galatasaray. Cantona led the Red Devils to win the first season championship in the Premier League and led the Red Devils to successfully defend the title. His reputation is unmatched and he has become the most attacked target. Some of the fouls he encountered could not even be called fouls, but were outright personal injury and blatant crimes. Trampling, flying tackles, elbowing, hitting, spitting... Just when he was playing against Sheffield United, he was violated by multiple players of the opponent team, and was slapped hard by a player during the tangle. Such a bad offense, such a barbaric behavior, the referee did not even take out a red card to uphold justice for Cantona and Manchester United.

Cantona did not go crazy on the spot, he was aware of the fouls on the court. In the subsequent games, he withstood all kinds of entanglements and fouls, and found an opportunity to score a wonderful lob shot.

Most of the time, Cantona would respond to all the malice with elegant football and retaliate with gorgeous goals.

In this away game against Crystal Palace, the Red Devils, Cantona, and even Ferguson were all prepared for the visit to Selhurst Park. Les Healy had broken his leg here before, and Robson was also seriously injured. This team is known for its roughness, and nothing is impossible.

The match was full of gunpowder from the beginning. Crystal Palace was weak, but unwilling to shrink and defend, so they kept using various fouls and tricks to fight against the Red Devils; the Red Devils played with great momentum and firmly suppressed their opponents. The Red Devils created many chances in the first half. Cantona and Hughes had excellent chances to score in front of the goal, but they didn't seize them. Keane and Giggs also made sharp breakthroughs and tried many long shots, but they almost failed to knock down the opponent's goal.

The Red Devils took advantage of the situation at the beginning of the second half, firmly pinning the opponent in the half. Crystal Palace retreated, but the defense became more fierce. When the battle was in full swing, the Red Devils intercepted the ball from the backcourt and launched a counterattack, passing the ball directly to the frontcourt. Cantona started to move forward from the wing, but the opponent's defender Richard Shaw chased back and interfered. Richard Shaw even pinched Cantona's waist when he was close to him, and poked Cantona's ribs with his hands.

Cantona used his hands to block the opponent's "attack", but his speed was helplessly slowed down and he eventually lost the ball. Richard Shaw was overjoyed and couldn't help but taunt Cantona. Cantona, who had been violated many times before, turned pale and finally couldn't control his temper. He kicked Richard Shaw, who had been pestering him, to the ground.

Cantona's kick was purely revenge, and the damage was not great, but the nature of the kick was extremely serious. The referee blew the whistle to stop the game and was about to take out a card. Players from both sides gathered around and continued to argue. The referee directly showed Cantona a red card and sent him off the field.

Cantona's face was calm. He didn't say anything and just turned and left.

Cantona was walking out of the field accompanied by the Red Devils' staff. At this time, a Crystal Palace fan ran over from another area, shouting "French bastard", "bitch", "Your whole family is stinking shit", "Your whole family is a bunch of bitches!" "You are a devil who is going to hell!"... This guy named Simmons is really a hooligan. He attacked and insulted Cantona with obscene words that are unbearable to hear.

Cantona suddenly stopped, his face flushed red, then turned blue, his eyes wide open as he stared at the other person. Cantona then leaped over the railing and gave him a sharp flying kick. Under the TV camera, Cantona's kick was so strong that he even fell to the ground, but the actual damage of the kick was not great. The fan quickly stood up and continued to yell and curse, and he did not seem to be injured.

Cantona was furious and rushed forward to punch. The two sides wrestled together. The guy was really a scoundrel. He was not hurt at all after being hit by Cantona several times. Cantona finally stopped after being pulled by the staff. The game was interrupted, and security and stadium staff rushed to control the situation.

Cantona kicks fan - the biggest news!

Almost all media outlets criticized Cantona. Cantona became a "devil", a "football bully", a "hooligan player", and even an unforgivable criminal. The process of Cantona's flying kick was repeatedly broadcast by TV cameras, and the media, who were eager to see the world in chaos, even said, "Cantona has been detained by the police. He is a criminal."

Referee Alan Wilkie did not see Cantona's kick. He said after the game, "I had already sent Cantona off with a red card and was about to resume the game. I did not see his subsequent behavior and did not know why he kicked the fan. I did not know what happened outside the stadium. When I noticed it, the sidelines were already in chaos. So I immediately stopped the game and asked security personnel to take Cantona out."

Alan Wilkie later said: "I didn't realise how serious it was at the time, but when I saw the kick later it was incredible. My only thought was 'Oh my God, how is this possible?!'"

The game ended hastily after the farce, with the two sides tied 1-1. Bruce issued a brief statement on behalf of the Red Devils afterwards, "We have always condemned the violence and various discriminatory behaviors on the field, opposed football hooligans, and opposed extreme fans who actively provoke, insult and attack any player. This tears apart community relations and destroys the community environment. The Red Devils club will deal with this reasonably and fairly to uphold the values ​​of the Red Devils."

Keane said in an interview: "Cantona did a good job! It was not a pleasant experience to challenge Crystal Palace away. The Selhurst Park Stadium has always been crazy, and there are many football hooligans there. You will hear a lot of disgusting things, racist abuse, attacks on players, insults to players' families, and even songs praising the Munich air crash! Crystal Palace's extreme fans are disgusting and rubbish. We are asked not to go to war with these guys, which makes them unscrupulous. "

Keane said: "Crystal Palace was too mean in this game. Richard Shaw kept pestering Cantona, another guy pestered Hughes, and I was harassed by them myself. Richard Shaw played very well, if he wasn't so rubbish. He was like a dog-skin plaster, closely marking Cantona, which is okay, but Shaw's behavior was very shameless, just like most of them. Crystal Palace players will use a lot of disgusting actions, deliberately bumping into you, pinching your stomach, pulling your hands, poking your waist, pulling your clothes, and if they can find your asshole, they probably won't mind poking it. They deliberately trip people when there is no ball, step on your feet with spikes, deliberately elbow when competing for headers, deliberately use knees and elbows in physical confrontations, and even hit your head with their hands. These people, like football hooligans, are the cancer of football competitions."

Mark Hughes said: "I certainly agree that it is wrong for players to fight with fans, but that fan is rubbish and will not accept any rebuttal. Cantona will not suffer any loss. He is very knowledgeable about fighting."

After the game, Keane and his teammates returned to the locker room and saw Cantona sitting quietly, waiting for everyone to come back.

Everyone anticipated that Ferguson would be furious, and they were prepared to be criticized one by one, and Cantona would be the first to be criticized.

Ferguson went berserk as soon as he entered the room. He turned on the hair dryer and sprayed it all over the place. He scolded everyone he saw, even Bruce and Keane. When he finished scolding Cantona, everyone was expecting what would happen in the center of the storm, but Ferguson put his hand on Cantona's shoulder and said, "Eric, my child, you shouldn't do this - that person doesn't deserve it. But since this has happened, we will share the consequences. You should calm down now, and we will handle the rest."

The Red Devils players and club staff were all stunned...

Manchester United officials arrived shortly after and stood to discuss with Ferguson how to deal with the incident. Cantona was eventually taken away by the police for questioning and, according to local police regulations, he would most likely be detained and prosecuted.

The Red Devils team quickly evacuated the stadium. On the bus, Keane said he hoped everyone would support Cantona and called on the club to immediately bail Cantona out. Keane said: "Eric is actually too gentle. If it were me, I think that guy would not be able to get out of bed for three days!"

Schmeichel, who had never gotten along with Keane, rarely supported him. Schmeichel said: "For this kind of thing, you should just deal with him. There is nothing to say!"

The Red Devils were united. Pallister had often been criticized by Cantona before and had declined Cantona's request for extra training. This time he took the initiative to pat Cantona on the shoulder to show his support. Ince hugged Cantona directly, and players such as Hughes, Giggs and Butt also thought "He did a good job!"

Gary was completely stunned at first, and the class of 92 was deeply shocked. Ferguson's unreasonable "protection of his son" was also incomprehensible to him. Gary later said: "We were a little scared because we didn't think about fighting against the fans at that time. We saw the whole team supporting Eric, and at that moment we knew what was right and wrong for the Red Devils."

Keane's attitude is the most clear. As a player who rose from obscurity to fame, Keane has experienced too many provocations, insults, contempt, and brutal treatment. Keane said: "There will be a moment when people like Cantona will think that enough is enough. As a player, your job on the field is to play football, not to be insulted there. Players pay with sweat and fight, and they are never willing to lose their dignity. Players are human beings, they should not be insulted like beasts, and they should be allowed to fight back when they encounter provocation and insults."

Keane feels that fighting is nothing new in the football world. Fans fight each other, players fight each other, and coaches may also fight with players. Keane said: "When I was at Forest, I saw how Brian Clough vented his anger. We didn't play well in the game against Queens Park Rangers, and Clough rushed onto the field and knocked two fans to the ground. Even so, Clough didn't make any big news. He also tried to beat up a reporter during training just because the reporter insulted him. As for players being provoked and insulted, generally speaking, we will remain calm, but after all, patience is limited."

Is there any difference between Clough beating someone and Cantona kicking someone?

Keane said: "I don't think there is any difference. If there is any difference, Cantona was caught on TV and became a big news, while Clough was completely ignored because it was not an official match day."

The Red Devils all defended their hero, but public opinion outside was one-sided, with everyone believing that Cantona was unforgivable.