David Beckham had to be held back after Sir Alex Ferguson threw boot

4 October 2023

David Beckham had to be held back after Sir Alex Ferguson threw a football boot at him.

David Beckham has lifted the lid on his infamous row with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson

The former footballer has opened up about the infamous changing room row back in 2003 when the Manchester United manager exploded with rage after the team's 2-0 FA Cup loss to Arsenal - and revealed he saw red after the boss lobbed a shoe at his face.

Speaking in new Netflix documentary 'Beckham', the sports star explained: "We walked in the changing room and the boss is fuming. I can see it by his face.

"And when you see the boss' face like this, you don't want to be anywhere near him. It is a face that no one can do, trust me ... I went back at the boss and said 'no' and then I swore. I said the f-word. And then I saw him change, and I was like, 's***, I really shouldn't have said that'. I think I said the f-word too many times."

Ferguson then hurled a boot at Beckham and it struck him just above the eye, leaving the sports man seething with rage. He said of the incident: "I went at him - someone had to hold me back."

Beckham's former teammate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also revealed it was his boot that ended up being thrown at his pal. He said: "When you lose you take your boots off and wait for the gaffer to talk and he starts effing and blinding at David. 'Look at the video', David says. [Ferguson says] 'I don't need a f****** video, I've got my eyes'. I could then just see my boot flying."

Beckham was left with a facial injury after the incident and is said to have needed stitches. He was later photographed with a bandage on his face.

Ferguson recalled the incident in his book 'Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography', writing: "He was around 12 feet from me. Between us on the floor lay a row of boots. David swore. I moved towards him, and as I approached I kicked a boot. It hit him right above the eye.

"Of course he rose to have a go at me and the players stopped him. 'Sit down,' I said. 'You've let your team down. You can argue as much as you like'."

He added: "The next day the story was in the press. In public an Alice band highlighted the damage inflicted by the boot. It was in those days that I told the board David had to go."

The footballer moved to Spanish side Real Madrid at the end of the 2002/2003 season.