THE NIGHT CANTONA TOOK OFF
THE crowd who went to Selhurst Park in January, 1995 to watch Crystal Palace take on Manchester United knew there was a player on the pitch who was capable of just about anything.
Eric Cantona lived his way, leaving Leeds for their arch rivals across the Pennines to play with a ‘‘Do you know who I am?’ swagger, supported by some magical moments that helped United win back-to-back Premier League titles and the FA Cup.
He was ‘King Eric’ and that made him a target – for opposing players and their supporters.
Palace’s Richard Shaw was handed the job of man-marking Cantona and clattered him several times in a goalless first half.
Cantona snapped after Shaw collided with him again three minutes after the restart. He kicked out at the Palace defender and was sent off.
As he made his way off the pitch, Cantona’s attention was drawn to a Palace fan who had ran down several steps to let the Frenchman know what was on his mind.
Matthew Simmons would later claim he shouted, “Off you go Cantona, it’s an early bath for you” – but he actually said much worse than that and Cantona responded.
In astonishing scenes, he jumped into the crowd, aiming a kung-fu kick at Simmons before being dragged away.
Lee Sharpe expected United boss Alex Ferguson to save his hairdryer for Cantona following the 1-1 draw.
Instead, he launched into his entire team for letting the club down before turning to Cantona and saying: “You can’t be doing those things, son.”
The club and FA were in agreement. United banned Cantona for four months – ruling him out for the rest of the season – and fined him £20,000.
The FA added five months to his ban and took an extra £10,000 from his bank account. Then the courts had their say. Initially sentenced to two weeks’ imprisonment, Cantona ended up with 120 hours’ community service.
Following the trial, he told the press: “When the seagulls follow the trawler, it’s because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.”
Only Cantona knew what he was talking about.
He returned to the United side against Liverpool in Occtober, 1995, and within two minutes, he had set up the opening goal before later adding a penalty in a 2-2 draw.