Snickers ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’: Eric Cantona’s kung-fu kick

Eric Cantona will be remembered for many things, but unfortunately for him a moment of madness in Selhurst Park in 1995 probably stands out above the rest.

Even in the days before social media and before live football was as prevalent as it is today, it was an incident that attracted an instantaneous response on such a scale that you knew it was something big.

It was one of those ‘You absolutely have to watch Match of the Day tonight’ moments that, despite the best efforts of Gary Lineker, don’t really apply in the present day because most people have seen said moments already thanks to the wonders of the internet.

Above all, outside of Manchester United fans, it is probably the moment that Eric Cantona is most remembered for. More than the glorious chip against Sunderland, more than the 1996 FA Cup final winner against Liverpool and even more than the bizarre and in a weird way, hilarious, quote about the seagulls following the trawler that followed The King’s moment of madness in Selhurst Park on that fateful January night in 1995.

We are of course, referring to the moment when Eric Cantona decided to kung-fu kick a Crystal Palace supporter who had unceremoniously abused him after he was sent off during a Premier League encounter between the sides.

Before that red card, everyone knew that on occasion, much like Roy Keane at the same time, Cantona could be a ticking time bomb on the pitch. The season before he saw red in games against Galatasaray and Arsenal and was dismissed for a vicious stamp on John Moncur against Swindon, while he was no angel at Leeds or during his time in France either.

Armed with that knowledge, Palace centre back Richard Shaw had no hesitation in winding him up on a fairly rotten night at Selhurst Park and after suffering one too many tugs from his direct opponent, Cantona snapped, kicked Shaw and was soon sent for an early bath yet again.

It was clear for all to see that Cantona was fuming, so kitman Norman Davies tried to escort him along the touchline and away from the Palace fans that were spitting fury in his direction, only for Cantona to escape his grasp and kung-fu kick one of the fans, one Matthew Simmons, who had been particularly keen to get his point across.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Cantona was immediately banned for the rest of the season by Manchester United, a ban that was subsequently increased to eight months by the FA and copper-fastened by FIFA. The Frenchman was originally sentenced to a fortnight in prison for assault but it was overturned on appeal and he served 120 hours of community service instead.

When he finally had to face the public about the matter, he said: "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much." And promptly left.

United lost the title to Blackburn on the final day of the season and the FA Cup Final to Everton in his absence but he returned arguably better than ever the following season and guided them to their second double in three seasons before hanging up his boots in 1997.

Nearly 20 years on it is an incident that football fans can recall with remarkable clarity but if a BBC interview he gave a couple of years back is anything to go by, it’s not something that has haunted Cantona every day since.

'Il ne regrette rien?' Not quite, but not far off either.