“That was blown up out of all proportion”
David Beckham has opened up about the truth behind the famous ‘boot incident’ that saw him needing stitches above his eye.
In 2003, Beckham required stitches in a cut above his eye when he was struck by a flying boot that Sir Alex Ferguson had kicked in frustration after United had exited the FA Cup at the hands of Arsenal.
There has been much speculation over the years about what exactly happened in the changing room, but the 46-year-old has always stated that it was simply a ‘freak accident’.
“That was blown up out of all proportion,” Beckham told the Mirror. “I’d made a couple of mistakes during the game and he came into the dressing room and a few harsh words were exchanged.
“He started to walk over to me and he kicked out at a pile of clothes on the floor. Out came this boot and then I quickly realised how accurate his kick had been as it struck me on the head, but there weren’t any hard feelings.
“It was a complete freak accident. As far as we were concerned. it was forgotten straight away within the club, but the incident made the papers which meant that people started to speculate about our relationship.
“But as far as the boss and I were concerned it was over, done and dusted.”
Three years before the boot incident occurred, the United manager and Beckham were involved in a comical hairstyle situation.
The midfielder had opted for a mohawk style and, knowing that Sir Alex most likely wouldn’t approve, kept it hidden until moments before the Red Devils’ Wembley tie against Chelsea.
However, even with just minutes until kick-off, the manager ordered Beckham to shave off his mohawk hairstyle in the tunnel.
“Before the 2000 Charity Shield at Wembley against Chelsea I decided to have a change of hairstyle,” said Beckham. “I went for a mohawk, which I knew wouldn’t be to his taste.
“In the end, I was too scared to let him see it, so the day before the game I went into training with a beanie hat on, trained in the beanie, walked back into the hotel with the beanie on, kept it on during dinner and the next morning’s breakfast.
“And I still had it on when we made the coach journey to Wembley.
“Of course the moment was arriving in the dressing room when I would have to reveal my new hairstyle, which I knew would send him into a frenzy.
“Sure enough, within seconds of the unveiling, he yelled at me, ‘Go and shave it off!’ I thought he was joking. ‘No, I’m being serious, now go and shave the ruddy thing off!’
“So off I went to try to find a pair of clippers from somewhere and, just before we’re ready to go out for the warm-up, I was in the Wembley tunnel shaving my mohawk off.”
Beckham made over 350 appearances for Man Utd, winning 13 major honours during his time at Old Trafford.
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