Published On 16/11/2025
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Last update: 11:54 (Mecca time)
Retired French star Eric Cantona, the former Manchester United player, took a photo that sparked the interest of European media and spread like lightning on social media.
Cantona kicks Netanyahu’s face with his foot
Cantona appeared in a photo holding a T-shirt that showed a picture of him kicking the face of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while the retired player was at an event in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland.
⚡️Eric Cantona posed with a Free Palestine t-shirt, featuring his kung-fu kick aimed at Netanyahu, with the Palestinian flag and “Free Palestine” text. pic.twitter.com/ypTw6bUTcn
— S2FUncensored (@S2FUncensored) November 14, 2025
This photo was taken in a Belfast store, and Cantona (59 years old) appeared alongside the store owner and shirt designer, Chris Ferry.
Cantona appeared in the shirt as he reenacted his famous kick that he directed at a Crystal Palace fan in 1995, when he was a Manchester United player at the time, but the recipient of the blow this time was Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court.
In 1995, Cantona is sent off against Crystal Palace.
Hooligan Matthew Simmons charges down to the front row and yells “Fuck off back to France” and “your mum is a French whore”.
Cantona launches a flying kung fu kick at him, and follows up with an underrated roundhouse too. pic.twitter.com/r4PkMZTGjB
— The Upshot podcast (@UpshotTowers) June 1, 2023
In the photo on the shirt, Cantona appears wearing a shirt in the colors of the Palestinian flag, with the phrase “Free Palestine” written on it in large letters.
Last week, Cantona participated in an event in Belfast entitled “Eric the King Cantona,” during which he gave an interview in which he talked mainly about football and his memories of his sports career.
A canton of permanent solidarity with Palestine
Cantona had expressed more than once his positions in support of the Palestinian cause and ending the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. He recently called on the International Football Association (FIFA) and the European Football Association (UEFA) to suspend Israel’s participation in international competitions.
“Clubs around the world should refuse to play against Israeli teams,” Cantona said at an event in London.
It is noteworthy that Cantona’s professional career spanned 24 years, and began with the Auxerre team in 1983 and ended with his retirement from the Manchester United shirt in 1997.
Cantona also defended the colors of several French and English teams, most notably Olympique Nimes, Montpellier, Bordeaux, Olympique Marseille and Leeds United, and won 12 championships.
Cantona titles at club level:
- English Premier League: 5 times (4 with Manchester United, one with Leeds United)
- French League: Two with Olympique Marseille.
- FA Cup: two with Manchester United.
- Charity Shield “English Super Cup”: 3 times with Manchester United.
At the international level, Cantona wore the French national team shirt in 45 matches, during which he scored 20 goals and provided his teammates with 3 assists, according to data from the famous “Transfer Market” website.