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21 years on, Cantona remains unrepentant over kung-fu kick

The Man Utd legend spoke to football magazine FourFourTwo - and wasn't mincing his words over that night at Selhurst Park.

Update:
21 years on, Cantona remains unrepentant over kung-fu kick

Just over two decades have gone by since Eric Cantona's infamous kung-fu kick on a Crystal Palace supporter at Selhurst Park - but, it seems, the intervening years have not served to mellow the Frenchman's outlook on that January night in 1995.

Having been sent off for lashing out at Palace defender Richard Shaw as the sides played out a 1-1 Premier League draw, the Manchester United striker was trudging back to the dressing rooms when home fan Matthew Simmons allegedly shouted at him: "F**k off back to France".

Cantona responded by launching himself feet first at Simmons in a skirmish that also saw punches thrown. In the wake of the incident, the United star was fined and eventually banned for nine months, as well as being sentenced to 120 hours' community service.

But speaking to the magazine FourFourTwo as part of an interview in which he answered readers' questions, Cantona remained unrepentant. "I didn’t punch him strong enough," declared the 49-year-old. "I should have punched him harder."