On January 25, 1995, Eric Cantona took off at Selhurst Park to deliver a flying kick to Matthew Simmons, a Crystal Palace fan who was in the front row.
Eric Cantona, who was defending the Manchester United shirt, was sent off with a straight red card after one of the most famous attacks in the history of football, which turns 30 today.
I already said that I should have hit him harder, I can’t regret it, it was a great feeling. I learned from it
Eric Cantona
Exactly three years ago, Cantona, far from regretting his now legendary flying kick, what he regrets is not having hit the Crystal Palace fan who spent the entire match insulting him harder. “I regret one thing… I would have loved to have kicked him even harder,” he acknowledged in ‘The United Way’, remembering that “they banned me from playing for nine months. They wanted me to be an example.”
Great goal from Cantona and historic celebration
“They have insulted me thousands of times and I have never reacted, but sometimes you are fragile,” Cantona justified. The FA sanctioned Cantona with a nine-month suspension from all football-related activities, while Crystal Palace renewed Matthew Simmons’ season ticket.
“I’ve already said that I should have hit him harder, I can’t regret it, it was a great feeling. I learned from it,” Cantona said in statements reproduced by the newspaper ‘The Mirror’.