In a now infamous away match against Crystal Palace, Eric Cantona was sent off by the referee for a kick on Palace defender Richard Shaw after Shaw had pulled his shirt. As he was walking towards the tunnel, Cantona launched a 'kung-fu' style kick into the crowd, directed at Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons, a fan who had run down 11 rows of stairs to confront and shout abuse at Cantona. Cantona was arrested and convicted of assault, resulting in a two-week prison sentence. This was overturned in the appeal court and instead he was sentenced to 120 hours of community service, which was spent coaching children at United's training ground. Which other infamous footballing controversies deserve to be on this list? Share your favourites below in the comments thread below.
NCTJ-accredited football writer with an MA in Sports Journalism. What Culture football editor. Write for the official Newcastle United programme. Former video reporter at North News. Featured and published in the Sunderland Echo, Shields Gazette, Mail Online, The Mirror, The Sun and others.
