'Then he said to Eric...': Cole recalls Alex Ferguson's reaction to Cantona's kung-fu kick

Former Manchester United footballer Andrew Cole recalled team manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s reaction when star footballer Eric Cantona launched himself with a kung-fu kick against a Crystal Palace fan for racially abusing him. The incident took place during the Premier League clash against Manchester United and Crystal Palace in Selhurst Park, London on January 26, 1995. Eric Cantona was shown a red card at the 47’, following which he stunned football fans by assaulting a Crystal Palace supporter with his kung-fu kick, as he walked off the pitch.

Andrew Cole, who was a teammate of Cantona at that time, revealed Sir Alex Ferguson’s reaction while talking to talkSPORT. Cole revealed that at the time of the incident, he had played only a few games in his United career. Being honest about his reaction, he said that he wasn’t sure of what had happened until he saw the incident on TV. 

Sir Alex Ferguson's reaction

Speaking about Ferguson’s reaction, Cole added, “It was surreal. Some of the boys were saying, the gaffer is going to lose it now. This for me, to this day, I still laugh to myself. 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.” Naturally, the players expected an outburst in the form of the hairdryer treatment from Ferguson, however, he let off Cantona reasonably light. 

Cantona was known as King Eric by the Old Trafford fans. He scored 82 goals for the United during his time with the club from 1992 to 1997 and won four Premier League titles, two FA Cup doubles. He later revealed that the kung-fu kick was his favourite memory with the Red Devils. On the other hand, Sir Alex Ferguson managed Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. During his time as the club’s manager, he saw the rise of many football legends like David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville, and Rio Ferdinand among the others.

Image: AP, Twitter/@ValleyFloydFred