David Beckham was spat at in public and his grandparents’ house was even targeted in the disgraceful aftermath following his red card in the 1998 World Cup.
Beckham was just 23-years-old when he was shown a red card after kicking out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone in the round of 16 tie in the 1998 World Cup. England would go on to be knocked out on penalties and Beckham would become public enemy number one, having to endure torrents of vile abuse.
The then-Manchester United winger would rely on the support of his family and friends, team-mates and the backing of Sir Alex Ferguson and loyal United fans as he was subjected to brutal vilification from football fans.
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Beckham spoke on the Stick to Football podcast, by Sky Bet, about the aftermath of his red card in the ’98 World Cup, he said: “There’s so much that’s happened in my career and not all good. In 1998, obviously, it was a tough time for me, but to get through that, it was even tougher, but it didn’t feel tough at the time because I had the right people around me.
“I had a manager that looked after me, a team that looked after me, and teammates that every time I stepped out onto the pitch, I knew that they had my back no matter what.
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“It [getting sent off at the 1998 World Cup] was a low point – but we all go through those moments, and it was my turn after the World Cup. I did make a mistake and I was obviously punished for it – but we all make mistakes, and I was thankful that I had the right people around me to get over it.
“It was more than just about the football in the end – that was the tough part. I had people doorstepping my grandparents’ house, and I would go out for dinner in London and people would spit at me. It was tough, but thankfully I had good people around me.”
One of Beckham’s closest friends, David Gardner, spoke about being there for the ex-Manchester United star during the most volatile of reactions that a footballer in England has ever faced, he revealed on the Beckham documentary: “He would walk down the street and people would be spitting at him. People would barge into him, shout f***ing this, f*** that.
“We had to take turns in taking him to the toilet. You would have to follow him to the toilet because you couldn’t leave him alone. We probably broke the world record for the fastest walk between bars at times.
“You get into the car and you get to traffic lights. That’s the worst place to be, in traffic. People would get out their cars, wind windows down, banging on the window. It was crazy. But he never reacted, not once.”
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