Eric Cantona has spoken of his greatest regret from that altercation with Matthew Symonds in Selhurst Park on January 21, 1995.
Predictably, he did not tell Four-Four-Two that he regretted reacting to this very day. That violence was wrong and that he wished he'd shut his ears and gone on his merry way. That if he could do it over, he'd stride off the pitch in a dignified fashion without giving his abuser a second glance.
No, he said he wished he'd have punched him rather.
I did land on my feet, not where you say. That's why I went top punch him again, but I didn't punch him strong enough. I should have punched him harder.
Symonds told the Sun that he ran the length of the Selhurst Park Stand to shout, "Off you go Cantona, it's an early bath for you!", a formulation which made him sound like a jovial Match of the Day commentator than a screaming hooligan.
Those nearby suggested that words bore closer resemblance to something along the lines of "‘Fuck off, you motherfucking French bastard."
As time has passed, Cantona's decision to attack the fan has been viewed more sympathetically, partly down to Cantona's charisma but also due to the profile of his victim.
In this respect, it was Cantona's good fortune that he retaliated to a man with BNP sympathies and a violently racist past.
Richard Williams even went so far as to write "the more we discovered about Mr Simmons, the more Cantona's assault looked like the instinctive expression of a flawless moral judgement."
