David Beckham shares ‘tough’ times he and his family faced following infamous red card at France 98
David Beckham talks about the ‘difficult’ times he and his family went through after his infamous red card at France 98… revealing he was abused for years and couldn’t even leave the house
- David Beckham shares the pain of the backlash he received after France 98
- Beckham was sent off in England’s quarter-final against Argentina
- English legend says he couldn’t go out because of the abuse he would receive
David Beckham has spoken about the impact his infamous red card at the 1998 World Cup had on him and his family.
The England legend was sent off in England’s quarter-final with Argentina after being kicked off at Diego Simeone following a midfielder’s tackle on the young Three Lions star.
The incident happened right before referee Kim Milton and it left the Danish official with no choice but to show Beckham the red card, and England went out of the tournament on a penalty shootout defeat.
Beckham suffered massive backlash on his return home and was vilified by the media, while an effigy of him was put up in a London pub and he would face a barrage of abuse at every away game the following season.
Speaking at a synagogue in London for the Lira Winston Fellowships, Beckham recounted The athletic about the testing times he endured as a result of the red card.
David Beckham has spoken out about the abuse he suffered following the red card at France 98
Beckham was sent off for kicking Argentinian midfielder Diego Simeone
“It was tough, but it was harder on my family than it was on me,” said the 48-year-old.
“I try not to get emotional, but that was what worried me more than anything else. I remember my grandpa calling me and saying, ‘David, people are knocking on the door saying you’ve failed the whole country and failed your entire family, what shall I say?
I couldn’t drive through London. I couldn’t walk around London. I couldn’t go to restaurants. I couldn’t go to the bars. Even my friends wouldn’t go out with me.
They knew I would be abused. If I stopped at traffic lights, people would hit or spit on my car.
Things like that happened to me every day for several years.’
Beckham talked about how these kinds of reactions wouldn’t happen in today’s world because there’s a better understanding of mental health issues.
Glenn Hoddle publicly blamed Beckham for England’s exit from the tournament
Still, he admits he only recently came across Glenn Hoddle’s reaction to the 25-year-old incident, with then England boss Blaming Beckham for his side’s exit from the World Cup.
“I only recently heard what Glenn said,” Beckham said. “I was surprised, but people say things in the heat of the moment and everyone was hurting at the time.”
However, what the 115-capped icon does remember from that night is the one man standing up for him after the game and showing Beckham what it was like to be a true leader.
“There was one leader in that dressing room,” he added.
“I was clearly upset. Tony Adams put his arm around me and said, ‘Son, don’t worry. You made a mistake, move on’. He was incredible with me, and I’ll never forget that moment.”