On January 25, 1995, Manchester United drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The reason why that game is still remembered today is that Cantona was sent off after he was sent off with a red card. After the game, Crystal Palace fan Simons insulted Cantona as a "French bastard". The furious Cantona jumped over the billboard and kicked Simons across the body in a Chinese Kung Fu style. Now, 20 years have passed since this incident that once shocked the football world. Let us take stock of the reflections of those who have witnessed this incident.

Andy Cole (Manchester United player)

I can’t believe my eyes, the only reaction anyone can give to anyone who saw that scene It must have been "oh my god". We all ran over to see what was going on, or we wanted to know why Cantona did that? What angered him? Was he beaten or something?

The game continued after that, David May scored for us, then Southgate equalized and the game ended 1-1. But in fact, throughout the second half, the 21 people on the field finished the game with a sense of surprise. I can't remember what Ferguson said in the dressing room. Maybe he was very surprised and we didn't hear what he said at all.

Jonathan Pearce (football commentator)

Cantona was sent off. Can you believe that a player with such outstanding talent in the game also has such a talent? Bad temper? Oh my God, he just kicked a fan, and Cantona jumped up and kicked a fan with a Chinese kung fu scissor kick. I have never seen such a shameful thing in all my years, and Cantona should have been sent off for this alone.

Alan Wilkie (referee)

Schmeichel fired a long ball. There were only two people in the Crystal Palace half at that time, and one of them was Kahn. Tonna, one is Richard Shaw. The two of them were struggling and Shaw was faster, and then Cantona kicked Shaw down, so I sent him off. I didn't see him kick the fan because I was busy dealing with Andy Cole's protest that I made the wrong call. My assistant referee didn't tell me what happened until after the game, but I saw that scene on CNN at 2 o'clock in the morning. My jaw hit the floor in surprise. My only thought at the time was " OMG".

Southgate (Crystal Palace player)

They were all arguing about Cantona being sent off. Then I heard the crowd scream, and then the stadium security Rushed over. At first I didn't understand what was happening. We continued playing after that and I scored a goal for Manchester United, but when I got back to the dressing room I knew Cantona had kicked the fan and that's when I realized my goal was not going to make the headlines. When we left the dressing room I realized how serious it was. The Manchester United players left in silence. They were told not to talk to the media, not to talk to us, not to talk to anyone.

Watkinson (former Manchester United director)

Cantona knew the seriousness of the matter and attended every meeting on time. I still remember being in Croydon court, but when Cantona was sentenced to 14 days in jail, everyone was surprised. Suddenly Cantona was going to jail. We immediately applied for bail and they were refused. So I had to go to the Crown Court, get a chance at bail, and then appeal. But Cantona still had to stay in jail for three and a half hours. To be honest, he was a little unhappy when we fished him out.

We have now held an internal meeting at Manchester United and decided to ban him until the end of the season, 4 months and 21 games. But then the FA decided to extend his ban until September, which we all thought was too harsh. I think we had a public press conference and Cantona said he would only attend if he was allowed to say something, and he said the seagulls and trawlers thing, and I think that was for this. The best way to bring things to an end. I remember he asked me how to say fishing boat in English and how to say seagull in English, and then he wrote these on a piece of paper. Later, an issue of Legal Weekly stated that Cantona admitted that his words were a satire on British law.

Ned Kelly (former Manchester United security chief)

I accompanied Cantona to the prison and he looked at me and shrugged. We went into a small cell and sat together, and one of the guards said to us: "Listen, don't eat any of the food in here, I'm going to get some McDonald's and chips." I gave Cantona my phone number and asked him to give it to him Wife makes a phone call. He told me at the time: "I've had enough of all this, just let me be responsible for what I did." I told him: "No way, we have to see what happens next." He was very relaxed, and in the police department He took pictures with other people during the game, signed autographs for them, and he was very relaxed about everything. We spent a lot of time hunting with Cantona at Hereford during the lockdown period and the abuse he received from some fans during that time was horrific.

David May (Manchester United player)

Ferguson did not turn on the hairdryer to scold Cantona. If it were any other player, he would have been scolded badly by the coach. He patted everyone on the head and said to Cantona: "Eric, I'm very disappointed in you, you can't do this again.

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Ferguson (Manchester United coach)

I watched the video and it was really terrible. Cantona didn’t explain it to me for more than a year. I had to protect Manchester United's reputation, so we suspended Cantona for four months. I think the referee didn't control the game well. Cantona was kicked many times and he finally couldn't control himself during the suspension period. He told me he wanted to move back to France and we met in a hotel where there was no one. I told Cantona everything would be fine and he was happy. I don't know whether what I did was right or wrong, but if I encounter the same situation again, there is no doubt that I will do it again. Many people said that I made a hooligan action and caused trouble to the fans. It's very harmful. But I think such fans should not be in the stands at all. I think there must be many players who have the same idea as me, and sometimes they want to kick such shameless fans. I didn't do it, and they must be very happy because I did something they didn't dare to do. It's a very special feeling. It's the best moment of my career.