Why did Shia LaBeouf copy Eric Cantona's 'seagulls' line? - BBC News BBC News Why did Shia LaBeouf copy Eric Cantona's 'seagulls' line? Magazine Monitor A collection of cultural artefacts 10 February 2014 LinkedIn Image copyright Getty Images Controversial US actor Shia LaBeouf stormed out of a news conference after quoting footballer Eric Cantona's comment about seagulls. Why is this baffling line about sardines so well remembered, asks Tanvi Misra. A gnomic utterance is defined, in one dictionary , as something that is "short, mysterious, and not easily understood, but often seems wise". That sounds appropriate for the line Manchester United striker Eric Cantona uttered in 1995. "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea." It's been endlessly dissected since. Nearly two decades later, troubled star Shia LaBeouf has pulled a Cantona . At a news conference for Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac on Sunday, he departed abruptly after answering just one question. With Cantona's seagulls line.

When the French striker originally said it he was also at a news conference, being quizzed after his arrest for kung-fu kicking a fan. The line prompted mass scratching of heads. Type "Cantona seagulls" into Google and the search engine suggests "quote meaning". But it is a straightforward metaphor, if you think about it, says Jim White, sport columnist at the Daily Telegraph. It implies the "media were just parasites and he (Cantona) was the boat that they were following". Cantona's reputation as a complicated man and a thinker perhaps led to the significance of the phrase being overstated. After all, it had been constructed by Cantona and a handful of other people in a hotel room shortly before the news conference. The footballer paused in the middle of his delivery to take a sip of water, smiling, because "he knew what was saying would have a serious effect", says White. Then he said nothing else. Like LaBeouf, Cantona had a reputation as a maverick. And he was "unashamedly Gallic in every sense of the word", says Mark Perryman, co-founder of Philosophy Football, a range of clothing decorated with slogans.

The blurry nature of the phrase perhaps added to its gnomic quality, says Julian Baggini, founding editor of the Philosophers' Magazine. "Sometimes when the water is muddy, you think it's deeper than it is," he says. Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook BBC NEWS | Europe | Cantona quotation's source explained Cantona quotation's source explained By Harry Peart BBC sports correspondent The origin of one of the most famous quotations in British football history has been revealed, seven years after it was uttered. Cantona in his footballing heyday The Frenchman Eric Cantona, who was a star at Manchester United at the time, gravely told a news conference that "when the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea". But an official at the club has disclosed that far from having a deep philosophical meaning, the quotation had a more humble origin. In 1995, Eric Cantona was at the height of his powers. But after being sent off in the game against Crystal Palace, he lost control of his emotions as he walked to the dressing room and launched a martial arts-style kick at a fan he alleged had verbally abused him.

Enigmatic Sentenced to 100 hours' community service for assault, Cantona's actions made worldwide headlines. But his only comment to the press after his conviction was that one sentence. Many believed it was the work of a little known French philosopher; others thought that Cantona had shown himself as a deep and enigmatic thinker. But Michael Kelly, the former head of security at Manchester United has revealed in his book that the quotation had been assembled by a number of people including Cantona in a London hotel room. Mr Kelly himself was asked by Cantona and his agent for another word for fishing boat - hence trawler. He was also asked what small fish were called. His response was "sardines". And so the phrase "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea" was born and earned Cantona the philosopher a place in football history. Eric Cantona was RIGHT about seagulls following trawlers, say scientists | Daily Mail Online Footballer Eric Cantona was right - scientists have established that seagulls really do follow a trawler, for up to seven miles to be precise.

The Manchester United star left most people baffled with his philosophical musings. But it was his most famous utterance, delivered to a press conference in 1995, that any football fan can recite at heart: ‘When seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.’ Eric Cantona, pictured, told bemused journalists at a press conference: 'When seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea'. He was addressing the media after he had kung-fu kicked a Crystal Palace fan in 1995 The Frenchman was speaking about press interest following his kung fu kick on a Crystal Palace fan. But now scientists have established that his words were literally true. A study has found that sea birds really can sense a fishing boat from miles away and alter their flight patterns to zoom in. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share The research, by scientists at the University of Exeter and University College Cork in Ireland, found that a boat creates a ‘halo of influence’ for seven miles in every direction.

Gannets, Britain’s largest seabird, can even differentiate a fishing boat from any other vessel. They are less likely to be attracted to boats that simply drift along than to boats whose crews are actively fishing. Dr Mark Jessopp of University College Cork said seabirds can recognise different types of boats and whether they are actually fishing Exeter’s Dr Thomas Bodey, who led the study tracking six colonies of northern gannets, said: ‘While we knew that seabirds, including gannets, regularly followed fishing vessels, we were surprised at the distance at which the birds’ behaviour was affected, expecting it to be a more localized phenomenon.’ The researchers tracked the movements of 74 individual birds around the British Isles using high-resolution GPS trackers. They compared their flight patterns to the GPS logs of fishing boats, establishing that each boat had a remarkably wide impact on the birds. The study, published in the journal Current Biology, said the findings demonstrate that fishing vessels which throw discards into the water have a far bigger ecological footprint than previously thought.

Dr Mark Jessopp of University College Cork said: ‘The fact that birds responded differently to boats depending on whether they were fishing or not, and the type of gear they were carrying, indicates just how finely attuned these animals are to the opportunities humans can provide.’ Shia LaBeouf wears paper bag, quotes Cantona at Nymphomaniac opening | Film | The Guardian Shia LaBeouf wears paper bag, quotes Cantona at Nymphomaniac opening Nymphomaniac star Shia LaBeouf repeats Eric Cantona's seagull quote as Lars von Trier avoids press conference Lars von Trier arrived at Nymphomaniac's press call wearing a "Persona Non Grata" t-shirt.

Photograph: Camilla Morandi/REX Monday 10 February 2014 05.32 EST First published on Monday 10 February 2014 05.32 EST Close This article is 2 years old The extended edition of Lars von Trier's controversial new film Nymphomaniac was unveiled at the Berlin film festival, accompanied by the kind of press-baiting shenanigans that equalled, if not topped, those that followed the debut of Von Trier's last film, Melancholia. Von Trier, who took a " vow of silence " after being banned from the Cannes film festival in 2011 after joking about Nazism during a press conference for Melancholia, arrived at Nymphomaniac's photocall wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase "Persona Non Grata"; true to his word, he failed to attend the subsequent press conference where his actors and producer talked about the film.

Centre stage was instead ceded to actor Shia LaBeouf whose only utterance was to repeat Eric Cantona's famously gnomic saying – "When seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea" – before walking out of the room, to the consternation of his fellow actors. This follows LaBoeuf's recent spat with the media over alleged plagiarism in LaBoeuf's short film Howard Cantour, which borrowed large sections of dialogue from a Daniel Clowes graphic novel, and for which LaBoeuf apologised. However, LaBoeuf's subsequent apologies were themselves discovered to have been copied from other sources ; his quoting of Cantona's lines are entirely true to form. Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) January 13, 2014 The film they were successfully calling attention to promises to be Von Trier's most controversial yet. Starring Charlotte Gainsbourg as the "nymphomaniac" of the title (the character makes it clear she prefers the term to the less outdated "sex addict"), the film follows the sexual history of the character from her earliest experiences onwards.

At Berlin the Danish director was premiering an extended cut of the first half, Volume 1, which runs at 145 mins, compared to the 118 mins of the cinema release version, and is unlikely ever to receive a theatrical release (or a certificate) in this form. This extended cut includes considerably more explicit material, including close-ups of genitalia and sexual activity that would be considered hardcore pornography in any other context. (Von Trier and the actors have said body doubles and visual effects were employed). Speaking at the press conference, Nymphomaniac's producer Louise Vesth confirmed that the extended version is Von Trier's own cut. "All the material that Lars wanted to use from the shoot is in the long version," she said.

"It is not like there is a new story in the film: the sexual content is more explicit, and it goes deeper into the discussion scenes." The latter refers to the "present day" sections of the film, in which Gainsbourg's character Joe recounts her past experiences to the man (played by Stellan Skarsgard) who finds her severely beaten in the street, who in turn analyses Joe's stories in terms of his intellectual passions, which include Bach polyphony, Edgar Allan Poe, and fly fishing. But attention, inevitably, was focused on the film's sex scenes, which have far outdone previously benchmark art films such as Catherine Breillat's Romance, Michael Winterbottom's Nine Songs and Von Trier's own The Idiots, all of which contain hardcore sequences. Vesth pointed out that the content of the film made it more difficult for Von Trier to realise his cinematic vision to his own satisfaction, because of the rules governing the portrayal of sexual activity. "Sex is more difficult than violence," she said. "I don't know why, but that's how it is." However, all the actors agreed that Von Trier made their jobs easier.

Christian Slater, who plays Joe's father said: "As an actor I felt safe. Lars is a very genuine, real person; you can tell right away he's a sensitive soul. He asks you to do something, you'll do it." Skarsgard said: "He makes you feel comfortable, which means it becomes possible to take risks." Stacy Martin, the 23 year old English former model who played Joe as a young woman said: "I really trusted Lars. I didn't have anything to lose; it was my first film. The script was so fascinating, it really made me believe in it.

I had to jump on the train." The derision heaped on the Nymphomaniac actor over a publicity stunt belies the hypocrisy at the root of our current relationship with celebrity Published: 10 Feb 2014 Actor caused a disturbance in the Studio 54 theatre on Thursday, then became belligerent after security asked him to leave Published: 27 Jun 2014 Following LaBeouf's eccentric recent performance art pieces, Franco writes that his work is 'worthy' Published: 21 Feb 2014 Actor Shia LaBeouf walks out of a press conference in Berlin and then arrives for a film premiere with a paper bag over his head Published: 10 Feb 2014 Interview: Ken Loach and Eric Cantona | Film | The Guardian Share on Messenger Close April 9 2008, and they are spotted together for the first time. Nobody can quite believe it. Ken Loach is sitting next to Eric Cantona in the directors' box at Old Trafford for Manchester United's Champions League match with Roma. Surely some mistake.

After all, Loach is the puritanical socialist film-maker who despises corporate fat cats such as United, whose football-going normally involves Bath City and their rivals in the Blue Square South league and who hardly ever works with stars (the last one was Terence Stamp, 42 years ago). The tongue-in-cheek rumours start instantly. On the Guardian's live minute-by-minute coverage of the match, it is suggested that Cantona is going to be in Loach's new film about deep-sea trawlers. The last line of the commentary concludes: "And incidentally the rumour about a Loach/Cantona project was a joke. Although Ken, if you're reading this ..." June 16 2008: Eric Cantona stands in a Manchester pub whispering arcane Cantona-isms to a scruffy, unshaven bloke. Cantona is playing big Eric, himself; the other man is Little Eric, a postman who has cracked up, driven hundreds of times round a roundabout at speed the wrong way, ended up in a psychiatric hospital, smoked too much cannabis on his release and now believes that his idol Eric Cantona has become his friend and mentor.

"He that sows thistles shall reap prickles," Big Eric, the bearded superhero, whispers urgently to Little Eric, the scabby failure. "Y'what?" Little Eric says. "If they are faster than you, don't try and outrun them," Big Eric says, getting into his aphoristic stride. "If they are taller, don't outjump them. If they are stronger on the left, you go right. But not always. Remember, to surprise them, you've got to surprise yourself first." The philosophising is a joke, but it's also at the heart of the film. Little Eric learns that he has to think positive and take risks to have a chance in life. Looking For Eric is also a film about old-fashioned solidarity - Cantona tells the postman you must always trust your team-mates, something he grows to appreciate through the film. As the two Erics chat, Loach is looking through his monitor. I've known Loach for ages, and have never seen him so content. He laughs at Cantona's attempt to deliver the sowing thistles line.

"It was a dirty trick by the writer, because a French person cannot say those words." Looking For Eric is Loach's first comedy in 20 years. It's a wonderful, humane, feel-good movie. Though, as you'd expect with a Loach film, he still plumbs the depths along the way. The film deals with broken men, drugs, poverty, violence, betrayal, corruption. Business as usual, then, for the director, except he's swapped down and dirty realism for down and dirty magic realism. Cantona has a huge presence, especially with his collar pulled up and his chest puffed out. Dark eyes, deep voice, direct stare; even his smile is scary. In his heyday at Manchester United , the fans simply called him God. Loach is on the small side - size seven and a half feet, delicate hands, a beansprout of a man. Vincent Maraval, one of the film's producers, tells me that the first time Loach and Cantona met it was awkward. "They were both very intimidated by each other. Very humble. They couldn't think of anything to say." Maraval says it was a good job he was around, otherwise they would have just sat in silence.

Well, yes, Loach says, of course he was overawed - he was a huge fan of Cantona's. "I mean, I'm not overimpressed by anybody in films because it's the business and we just work in it, but when it's somebody from outside who is very special in their own field, and particularly if it's a field you care about, then I think you are overwhel ..." He looks embarrassed. "Well, not overwhelmed, but you are impressed because, that level, it's something you can't approach - you can only stand back and admire really." Loach says he loved the wit of Cantona - as a player and as a man. He mentions the famous and much-derided seagulls quote, after Cantona was banned for kung-fu kicking a Crystal Palace supporter. "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown in the sea." The seagulls in question were the press, the trawler Cantona himself, and the sardines his titbits.

"The wit of it was to say it to the hacks, who would then scratch their heads and say, what does it mean?" Cantona's production company had originally approached Loach with an idea he had for a film about his relationship with a fan who had become a friend. Loach and his regular writer, Paul Laverty, didn't much fancy the story, but they had always wanted to make a film about football and, despite their golden rule not to work with famous actors, this was, after all, Cantona. It was Loach, by the way, who created British cinema's greatest football scene in Kes when games teacher Brian Glover provides a running commentary as he dribbles past his tiny pupils imagining he's Bobby Charlton. Laverty went away and dreamed up the story of the two Erics - big Eric the idol and little Eric the loser. If he was working with a famous man, he might as well explore the nature of celebrity - how stars are perceived, how we put them on pedestals and what their lives might actually be like. While Cantona is larger than life, Eric the postman feels he has become invisible, even among his friends - middle-aged, crippled by uncertainty and lost in his memories.

Laverty says there were two conditions he set before agreeing to let Cantona loose on his script - first, he had to feel for Little Eric's situation and, second, he had to be willing to take the mick out of himself. Hence all the proverbs. "Big Eric was up for that. He laughed his head off at some of the daft ideas. He's prepared to laugh at his own persona - he's done lots of adverts referring to sardines. He's a very bright, perceptive man." Ken Loach and Eric Cantona, the odd couple. But perhaps it's not so surprising they teamed up. They are two of the most uncompromising men I have met. Loach, now 72, has won numerous awards in Europe (three years ago, he won the Palme D'or at Cannes for The Wind That Shakes The Barley), but has not had a commercial hit in Britain since Kes in 1969.

He often uses real people rather than actors in his films; refuses to show his actors the whole script, so they are surprised by what happens next (in Kes, David Bradley, the boy who plays Billy Casper, thought his kestrel really had been killed); he turned down an OBE in 1977 ("It's all the things I think are despicable: patronage, deferring to the monarchy and the name of the British Empire, which is a monument of exploitation and conquest," he said in 2001); and has had films about trade unions commissioned by Channel 4 and ITV, and then withdrawn (he says both decisions were politically motivated). He might be quietly spoken, but Loach is not a man who holds back. As for Cantona, he makes Loach look like a diplomat. In 1987, he was fined for punching team-mate Bruno Martini in the face. The following year he was banned from international matches for a year after calling the French team's coach a "bag of shit". At Montpellier, six players called for him to be sacked after he threw his boots in a team-mate's face.

In 1991 he threw a ball at the referee, and when he was banned for a month at the subsequent disciplinary hearing, he walked up to each member of the panel to tell them individually they were idiots. When his ban was increased, he announced his retirement from football. He changed his mind and returned to play the best football of his life in England at Leeds and Manchester United. Alex Ferguson called this sublimely gifted footballer his most important signing. In his six seasons in England, he won the premiership title every year except 1995, when he was banned for nine months for that kung-fu kick. When Cantona returned from his ban, he scored one of the greatest goals the game has seen, against Sunderland, turning on a sixpence, beating three defenders, playing a one-two with Brian McClair, then outrageously chipping the ball into the top corner, apparently in slow motion. After the goal he held out his hands to be adored, preening. He retired for real at the ridiculously young age of 30. No injuries, no trauma, he'd just had enough.

While Loach has spent most of his career revered in France and ignored at home, Cantona is still revered in England 12 years after he stopped playing. But in France he tends to be regarded as an underachieving maverick - although he scored 20 goals in 45 appearances for the national side, he last played in 1995 and had retired by the time France won the World Cup in 1998. Since retiring, he has worked consistently as an actor in French cinema, a pretty good one - notably as an obese police inspector who falls in love with a murder suspect in 2003's L'Outremangeur. In the afternoon, Cantona and I head off to another location - a council tower block in Manchester. I ask why he was so keen to work with Loach. He stares at me with those dark, defiant eyes. It's a look that says: who wouldn't want to work with Loach? "We wanted someone who was English, we wanted someone who was involved socially and politically, and we wanted someone who was a fan of football. In France, it is well known he is a fan." Had he seen any of his films before working with him?

Now he gives me a how-could-I-not look. "I have seen a lot of Ken Loach's films. I've seen Riff-Raff, Carla's Song, Land And Freedom, the one about the war in Ireland, Family Life ..." He reels them off. Unbelievable. He has seen just about every Loach film. Family Life, about a pregnant teenager who ends up having electric shock treatment, is one of the most miserable films ever made. I tell Cantona that I am a Loach junkie, but even I found this too depressing and walked out of the cinema. He smiles, and tells me it is a great film. Cantona did not watch many films as a child. He preferred to play football on the street, in school, everywhere. Even as a boy, it seemed like a profession. "I always knew I had to work hard." His father, a psychiatric nurse, told him it was not enough to be gifted. "He'd say to me, OK, you have abilities, now you need to work hard. Work, work, work." Like Loach, Cantona grew up in a working-class family - he was born in Paris, but the family soon moved to Marseille.

He believes the modern game has betrayed its working-class roots by pricing many of its traditional supporters out of the game. "The real fans of football come from the working class. Now they cannot afford to come and watch the game. So maybe when the game will need fans, they will be in trouble. And they will realise they were wrong - the people who come today don't come for the right reasons." To Cantona, now 42, football was as much an art form as a sport. When Paul Laverty was writing the script, he asked him for the favourite moment from his career - Cantona did not mention any of the famous goals but a chipped pass to Ryan Giggs. He says that the move from footballer to actor was a natural one to make - acting is just another form of performance. Cantona leaves me to play the trumpet into the Manchester skyline, as Little Eric (brilliantly played by Steve Evets) delivers his post. It's a beautiful scene. Big Eric lifts the trumpet to his lips and blasts out La Marseillaise - poignantly, it's recognisable, but still hopelessly out of tune. "When Big Eric plays the trumpet, he's all fingers and thumbs," Laverty says.

"I suppose what I wanted to show is him struggling through life like everybody else. It's implicit in the relationship between the two Erics - they're just two flawed human beings in this adventure of life." I ask Cantona when he learned to play the trumpet. "When I was banned, I wanted to focus on something else." Did the nine months drive him mad? "No. I'm never bored. I always find something to occupy me, to love. I didn't watch many games when I was banned. I tried to improve myself." As he approached the Crystal Palace fan, did he realise what he was going to do? "No. I just reacted as a man. With my personality. And after, I think." That's how he's always lived, for good and bad - act first, think second. Did he regret it? "No. I don't like it when people say, 'I had a bad time.' I endured. So I learned a lot and now I am a man. Every experience makes you a man." In 1997 he told Alex Ferguson he wanted to retire because he had lost his passion. Was he surprised that he fell out of love with the game? "Yes.

It happened because I felt I couldn't play better. You need to say to yourself, 'I can improve every time.' One day you realise you will not improve any more, and you lose a bit of the passion." He says he had lost the ability to surprise himself. Cantona's pride would not allow him, or us, to witness his deterioration as a footballer. But he found retirement tough. Is it true that he compared it to dying? "Yeah, it was, but I lived that before because, when I was 24, I retired from football for two-three months, and I really believed I had retired. And it felt like a death. With myself and with people around." He says it was a painful experience, but also strangely enjoyable. "I liked it. It's a dream for a lot of people to come when they put the body in the cemetery ... to see the reaction of people." And how did they react? "People tried to encourage me not to take this decision, but they quickly realised it was better not to say anything.

I prefer to live this kind of death than to kill myself." Maybe it's all of this that makes him so capable of empathising with Eric the postman - yes, he experienced enormous highs, but, despite appearances, he also had a developed sense of his own vulnerability; the fact that a footballer's peak is so short-lived that he's unlikely to do anything as well in his life again. It's April 2009, and it has just been announced that Looking For Eric will be in competition at Cannes. It's strange how Loach's movies have never had so much as a sniff of a Bafta, while the rest of the world can't give them enough prizes. For once, though, a Loach film is getting a decent release in Britain. The odd couple don't seem half as odd as they did a few months ago. In his own reserved way, Loach is every bit as cocksure as Cantona. And in his own cocksure way, Cantona is every bit as reserved as Loach. Rebecca O'Brien, Loach's long-time producer, says she is not at all surprised they ended up working together.

"They are both very shy men, self-effacing, neither of them puts up with any shit, and both are pretty serious about football." Plus, she says, with a wicked producer's grin, "Eric being French helps - France is our best territory, always has been!" What did Loach most admire about Cantona as a footballer? "He was a player of consummate skill and great cheek." Loach is staring out of the window. A parabola of water is squirting over a wall in our direction. There is no sign of what or whom it is coming from. Loach is giggling. "It's a very tall man," he says. It could be a scene from one of his films. For all their bleakness, he's always enjoyed knockabout farce. "Oh yes," he says, refocusing. "Most people who enjoy football just saw in Eric's performance a very strong personality that communicated the joy of football." What did Cantona admire about Loach as a film-maker? "I like the way it's so real, like documentary. And I like how you don't know if you have to laugh or cry.

For instance, in Riff-Raff, in the pub the girl sings and you laugh because she cannot sing well, but at the same time, the way they film this scene, you can cry. It's a strange feeling." When I met French producer Vincent Maraval, he told me that Cantona had found it tough in France because he was expected to compromise. "In English football, you have more space for the strong personality, for being yourself," Maraval said. "And Eric is not for any compromising in his life or his career. He is always very straight what he thinks about you ... he is the opposite of a hypocrite. He had a lot of respect for the stories Ken was telling, and has a vision of life that is very pure. He could feel that Ken was on his side." In the film, Big Eric plays with the notion that he is a superior being. He tells Little Eric, "I am not a man, I am Cantona." I ask Cantona if he could imagine saying the line in real life. "Yes, I could say that, because I have a lot of... auto-derision?" He grins, and looks at Loach for confirmation. "Yes, self-mockery," Loach says.

When he came to England, Cantona turned away from the gated properties and exclusive clubs beloved of contemporary footballers. He lived with his first wife Isabelle and their two children in modest, semi-detached houses in the community. When they split up after close to two decades, it was painful - Cantona has said neither came from families where there had been divorce. In 2007, he married the actress Rachida Brakni. Loach has been married to his wife Lesley for 47 years. Cantona has always regarded himself as on the left politically, and talks with pride of his grandparents fighting for the republicans in the Spanish civil war. His parents taught him all the important things in life, he says. "I think I had a very good education of love ... le plaisir des petites choses, a delight in small things. I'm not sure the people who want to show their power with big houses, bigger cars, are very happy. I feel sad for them." We talk about their various run-ins during their careers, and both agree compromise is not their favourite word. It's amazing how two such obstinate buggers have ended up working with each other and loving the experience.

"Well, it's not obstinacy," Loach says. "I think it's more that life's too short to sell out, really. Why bother in the end? It's easier to stay with what you think than make a compromise with something you're not happy with. Then you regret it for ever." He looks at Cantona, and Cantona looks at him. "Yeah, exactly," Cantona says. Eric Cantona's kung-fu kick: The moment that shocked football - BBC Sport Eric Cantona's kung-fu kick: The moment that shocked football 22 Jan 2015 Read more about sharing. "Eric had a fuse on him. There is no doubt about that. Ultimately he exploded…" (former Manchester United defender Gary Pallister) "People have said this is the most famous common assault case in the history of the English legal system." (former United director and solicitor Maurice Watkins) Twenty years on, the kung-fu kick former Manchester United striker Eric Cantona launched at Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons, moments after being sent off at Selhurst Park, still resonates as one of sport's most extraordinary events, even by the standards of football's melodramas.

The Frenchman was already an icon at Old Trafford after inspiring them to successive league titles, the first ending a barren run of 26 years, after his arrival from Leeds in November 1992. This retaliatory act of violence, which he never attempted to defend, merely added to his legend. In a special show broadcast on Thursday, 22 January, BBC Radio 5 live explored in detail arguably the most shocking episode in Premier League history. Former United players Gary Pallister and David May, then club director and solicitor Maurice Watkins, former United head of security 'Ned' Kelly, ex-Palace manager Alan Smith and Palace supporter Cathy Churchman recount the story of the infamous incident, the subsequent court appearances, and Cantona's celebrated "seagulls" quote. A figure of hate… wearing black 25 January, 1995. Defending champions United travel to south-east London in second place, two points behind leaders Blackburn, who they had beaten 1-0 at Old Trafford three days earlier with Cantona scoring the winner. Victory at lowly Palace would return United to the top of the league. Pallister: "Eric was always the number one target for supporters around the country.

It wasn't just players who tried to wind him up but fans felt as though they could do it as well. Some of the abuse he got was terrible. Eventually it took its toll on him I think and it all came to a head that night. He was such a hate figure because he was such a good player." Smith: "What distinctly hit me was that they played in all black that night. None of them had shaved and they looked a pretty ferocious team. I was thinking 'this is going to be a long evening'." Cantona was having a running battle with Richard Shaw (grounded) throughout the match Palace centre-back Richard Shaw is given the job of man-marking Cantona. Smith: "Shawsie had this sort of bubbly, curly hair. He put a load of grease on. He used to put a lot of Vaseline around his face and mouth. He was the most charming, gentle guy you could ever meet but he looked pretty ferocious on the field. I think he was really up for marking Cantona." Cantona is the subject of a series of hefty challenges, from Shaw in particular. Smith: "If you want to say 'gave him one', Shawsie certainly went in.

I don't have a lot of sympathy with Cantona. He is a big man, carries himself well, and he had given a fair amount out. Shawsie just thought 'it's on the halfway line, it's in front of the dug-out - I'll go for it'. Then United boss Sir Alex Ferguson (writing in his autobiography Managing My Life): "[Referee] Alan Wilkie's inability to stamp out the disgraceful tackles from Crystal Palace's two central defenders made subsequent trouble unavoidable." 'There was this look... His eyes were seething' Cantona was shown a red card for the fourth time in his United career In the 48th minute, Shaw comes into contact with Cantona as he chases a punt from keeper Peter Schmeichel and the Frenchman retaliates with a petulant kick. He is red carded and walks off down the side of the pitch, with United kitman Norman Davies escorting him towards the dressing rooms. Churchman: "All of a sudden he turned and looked back; I thought he was looking at me. I had no idea where this other guy [Simmons] had suddenly appeared from. There was this look on Cantona's face. His eyes were seething.

You just knew at that point he was going to do something silly." Simmons (leather jacket) taunts Cantona as fan Cathy Churchman (red scarf, left of Simmons), looks on Kelly: "This chap just came straight down the gangway and started screaming abuse at Eric. He was okay when the guy was effing and jeffing at him but I think he called his mother a 'French whore' and that was the turning point. The next thing I know Eric is over the barrier giving him a kung-fu kick and punches are flying." Churchman: "All hell broke loose as he jumped over the barrier. I can remember falling into my 15-year-old son and Eric's boot just brushing past my coat. Everyone looked at each other saying 'oh my God, what just happened' It was all over in seconds." May: "I was stood in the middle of the pitch and there was a roar from the crowd. You look over and… I just thought 'what the hell are you doing'? You run over to see what is going on. It is kicking off and it is a case of 'one for all, all for one'.

Everyone joined in." United defender Gary Pallister (left) was too shocked to get involved as others ran towards Cantona Pallister: "I think I was one of the only players that didn't run over. I just stood there in disbelief. I was more in shock at what I'd just witnessed." Kelly: "I took it upon myself just to go straight down there. I pushed a couple of stewards out of the way and found my way into the dressing room and Eric was in there with Norman. I told Norman to get back out there and that I would take over from here." With the ground in a state of heightened fervour, United go 1-0 up in the 57th minute. May: We had a corner, I stayed up, got set up by Lee Sharpe and scored my first United goal. I thought 'here we go'. I was going to get a nice little bit of positivity in the papers the next day. That is all I could think of." Media playback is not supported on this device Eric Cantona's infamous kung-fu kick Cantona, meanwhile, is silently digesting the impact of his actions.

Kelly: "He was sitting on the bench next to his stuff, very quiet, shirt off, thinking about what has gone on. It was dead silent, you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. Sometimes you step back and realise you don't say anything." No hairdryer for Eric - May feels full blast An equaliser from Palace defender Gareth Southgate denies 10-man United victory. The away dressing room is ablaze with recriminations. May: "The manager is ripping heads off everyone... Big Pete (Schmeichel), Big Pally, myself, Sharpey, Paul Ince. He had a go at me for their equaliser. He said, 'who the hell was marking Southgate?'. I said 'Eric'. He turned round and said 'Eric, I am disappointed in you. You can't be doing those things'. I thought 'Is that it? Is that it?!' Any other player would have been given the hairdryer. I just got the hairdryer off the gaffer for not marking someone I shouldn't have been marking." Pallister: "Eric was very subdued. He just sat quietly in the corner. He didn't really say anything.

I think he understood the magnitude of what had happened. Everybody was trying to come to terms with how we were going to deal with it." Kelly: "All the directors came in and were stuck in a corner - Mike Edelsen, Maurice Watkins, Martin Edwards - discussing the way forward." Smith: "Afterwards, I saw Sir Alex and he shook hands and said, 'What the bloody hell was wrong with that then?' I said 'Alex, that's an everyday occurrence in Putney High Street'. Because of his tunnel vision for everything, he was even trying to put a case that Cantona had been badly treated. I just sort of said, 'No Alex, totally agree, nothing wrong with it. Everyday occurrence'." Smith returned to Palace for a second spell in 2000, after being sacked following their relegation in 1995 Kelly: We let everyone else go out to the coach then me and Eric came out together at the end.

There were fans outside baying for blood but I was quite confident I could deal with it and you've got to remember Eric was 6ft 2in and from a rough area of Marseille - he could look after himself." "We were getting reports Manchester Airport was packed with press but we made contact with security who told the driver where to go. We got Eric into the car on the tarmac and drove him to the car park, where he got into his own car and drove home." The fall-out - crime and punishment Sir Alex Ferguson, upset at the loss of two points and "enclosed in my other world" on his return home, only starts to fully digest the Cantona incident early the next morning. Ferguson: "By 4am I was up and watching a video. It was pretty appalling. Over the years since I have never been able to elicit an explanation from Eric but my own feeling is that anger at himself over the ordering off and resentment at the referee's earlier inaction combined to take him over the brink." Churchman: "I worked at a hotel group at the time. My boss phoned me to say he'd seen me on TV.

Within an hour of me getting to work the next morning we were besieged by reporters. It was quite surreal seeing my picture all over the papers. But it hit home that I needed a new haircut, and a new coat." Ferguson and members of the United board - chief executive Martin Edwards, chairman of the PLC board Sir Roland Smith and Watkins - meet at the Alderley Edge Hotel that evening to determine the club's response. Ferguson: "We were unanimous that it had to be powerful enough to protect Manchester United's reputation and we agreed that we should impose a four-month suspension on Eric, which would rule him out for the rest of the season." United also fine Cantona £20,000. The FA subsequently summon him to a disciplinary hearing and extend the ban to nine months, until the end of September, and fine the player a further £10,000. Watkins: "I think the club acted properly in the way they handled it. Eric accepted the punishment we decided to impose. As you can imagine, there were all kinds of suggestions that the club should terminate his contract and all the rest of it. But the club felt that they had to stand by their player.

That is why we were disappointed when, subsequently, the FA decided to heap on a greater punishment." In the dock… and eating fast food in the cells 23 March 1995: Cantona faces assault charges at East Croydon Magistrates Court. Cantona arrives at East Croydon magistrates court with Ned Kelly (with moustache) alongside him Kelly: "Paul Ince [who was also in court, facing a charge of common assault, on the same day], took him down in his car and they went out on the town. The tabloid press were there with their cameras and got them leaving Browns [nightclub]I think it was, at 3am. I wasn't there, they went out without me. I drove down that night and the next day Maurice asked me where Eric was - he knew where they'd been because he saw the papers - and I don't think that helped his case, to be honest." "We left the hotel, which was 60 or 70 metres away from the court and we had to run the gauntlet of the press. I just grabbed hold of his wrist and pushed my way through.

We got him inside eventually and he was signing autographs." Cantona pleads guilty. The magistrate tells him: "You are a high-profile figure. The only appropriate sentence is two weeks' imprisonment, forthwith." Watkins: "You could have heard a pin drop when the sentence was imposed. Then, as you can imagine, it was mayhem. Everybody was stunned. Even the prosecuting lawyer was very surprised at the decision of the bench because it ran counter to all the sentencing guidelines. One minute Eric was a free man, the next minute he was taken down to the cells. He was in the cells for three and a half hours." Kelly: "I think Eric was in a bit of shock. We all were. I followed him down the stairs with the prison wardens and we went in and sat down together in the cell. One of the old police officers said 'don't have the food in here; I'll go and get you something from down the road'. So I gave him some money and he went down to McDonald's and got some Big Macs and French fries so we ate that and had a good laugh about it." "I gave Eric my phone and he called his wife, and Marseille to tell his family.

Then he said, 'I can't be bothered with this, I might be better if I just serve this 14 days and get it over and done with'. I said 'no way, wait until Maurice gets back'." Watkins and his legal team apply for bail, which is turned down by the magistrate. Watkins: "So we had to charge up to the Crown Court, which luckily wasn't too far away. We lodged a notice of appeal and made an application for bail." The judge grants bail and sets an appeal hearing for the following week. Watkins: "We didn't have a lot of time to breathe but at least we got him out and back home and we could start work on the appeal." Kelly: "On the way back up we stopped at what used to be the Four Seasons at Manchester Airport and I said, 'Do you fancy a beer at Mulligans?'. Eric had a couple of beers before I took him home." The appeal, the seagulls and fingers in doors Cantona received a police escort to his appeal hearing at Croydon Crown Court 31 March, 1995. Cantona returns to Croydon, this time to the Crown Court, for an appeal hearing.

Watkins: "I had a bit of a problem because I had got a bad back. I just couldn't get out of bed. They were looking for me. I was trying to get some attention and in the end, the hotel doctor came for me and gave me a few jabs and got me back on my feet again." Cantona's QC tells the judge his custodial sentence is "flawed, and contrary to the express will of Parliament". He is sentenced to 120 hours of community service instead. United then hold a news conference. Watkins: "Eric wasn't too keen but he said 'OK, but I would like to say something'. Then we started drafting what he was going to say. He was scribbling on a bit of paper and he asked me 'what is the name of that big ship that catches fish'. I said 'that's a trawler Eric'. 'And the big bird that flies over the sea?'. 'A seagull'.

Then he wrote it out and we had the famous saying." Media playback is not supported on this device Watch Cantona's famous 'seagulls' quote "I think I knew what he was getting at, as did quite a lot of other people once they had analysed it. But he didn't want me to explain it. He was quite adamant about that. He said 'I am going to say this but I don't want you to explain what I mean'. So, off he went." Kelly: "We were upstairs in one of the offices of these hotels. Maurice was there talking with the QC and I was looking out the window at all the press. Eric was with his agent - Jean-Jacques Bertrand - and he looked up at me and said, 'Ned, what do you call a fishing boat in England?' and I said, 'a trawler'. Then they started speaking in French so I didn't have a clue what they were saying. He then said, 'what do you call these small fish?' and I had a think about it before saying 'sardines'.

Then he said, 'what is the English word for the birds that fly beyond them?' I said, 'seagulls' and that's how it started." In a room packed with expectant journalists, the enigmatic Frenchman utters the following line, before promptly getting up and taking his leave: "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea." Watkins: [After the news conference] they dropped me off at my hotel but unfortunately I left my fingers in the door. The counsel slammed the door on it. I started off [the day] with an injection and finished it off with the doctor that night putting my fingers together again." The ban - shooting pheasants in Hereford Kelly: "The first thing we did was get him out of where he was living in the north side of Manchester. Mark Hughes had a spare house over in the Prestbury area and we moved him there out of the way and he stayed there until he left. Media playback is not supported on this device Eric Cantona: When Football Focus met 'King Eric' "I was there to look after him, really. The abuse he was getting from other supporters was quite horrific.

I found out he liked shooting and hunting and I had a couple of mates down at Hereford who did that and we went on to one lad's private property down there and shot some pheasants. "His father was a keen outdoors man as well so he'd come over and I'd take them down to Hereford for a day of shooting then we'd drive up to Manchester that night. Towards the end of it, we went to local places around the Cheshire area and he was a hell of a shot." Cantona did coaching sessions for children during the week at United's old training ground at The Cliff. But under the terms of his ban he was not allowed to play in any organised matches. United attempted to schedule a series of training games against local teams to keep Cantona involved, but were censured in a letter from the FA once the matches became public knowledge. Deeply frustrated, Cantona informed United he was moving back to France. Ferguson: "The next morning I contacted Eric's advisor and told him I was ready to fly to Paris. We met at a restaurant in which Eric was waiting for us with [his agent] Jean-Jacques Bertrand and a secretary.

There was no-one else in the place and the owner had put the ferme [closed] sign on the door. Eric was delighted to see me and to hear what I had to say… I believe he wanted me to put an arm round him and convince him that everything would be all right." Cantona made a triumphant return against Liverpool and subsequently led United to the Double 1 October 1995: Cantona returns against Liverpool at Old Trafford, setting up a goal for Nicky Butt inside two minutes, and then scoring an equalising penalty in a 2-2 draw. He scores 13 more league goals, including the winner in five 1-0 victories, as United overhaul a 12-point deficit on Newcastle to regain the league title. Cantona also contributes five goals to United's FA Cup campaign, including the winner over Liverpool in the final, as they complete the Double. Watkins: "Obviously it was a very unsettling time for him and he was out of the game for such a long time. But I think he came back stronger than ever.

He was such an influence at the club." Pallister: "He had his mind set that he wasn't going to return to English football because of the way he was treated. He thought it was unfair. But the manager was obviously very persuasive. He came back the same player, the same genius." Interviews by Ben Smith and Simon Stone. Edited by Bryn Palmer. Share this page Manchester United will hope Zlatan Ibrahimovic brings Eric Cantona-type success | Daily Mail Online comments It's autumn 1992 and Manchester United are struggling to keep pace. Aston Villa, Blackburn, Norwich and QPR have stolen a march on the Red Devils and Old Trafford needs a spark. They found it in the shape of a 26-year-old from Marseille with extreme footballing ability and a personality to match. Over the following five years, Eric Cantona would set United on the road to domination. Fast-forward the best part of a quarter of a century and the cast might have changed but the soap opera's storylines remain the same; United are lagging, trodden down by a period of little success, crying out for a talisman to pick the club up and shake it around.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to sign for Manchester United this week after leaving Paris Saint-Germain Eric Cantona shares plenty in common with Ibrahimovic when it comes to raw talent and wild personality Cantona joined United in 1992 and became a legend at Old Trafford. Ibrahimovic is tasked with doing the same RELATED ARTICLES 5k shares Enter Zlatan. Like Cantona a generation before him, the Swedish striker is a mesmerising mix of magic and mayhem, compulsive viewing for the masses, a man capable of generating headlines without saying a word. Yet, like Cantona, Ibrahimovic is no quiet man of football. In an age of sanitised PR, he refuses to be bound by the rules of politeness and diplomacy or scripted rhetoric. He speaks his mind and he doesn't care what anyone thinks. Just like Eric. The similarities are endless. Both men justified their off-field arrogance with subtle genius on it. Both created for themselves a distinct image - be that Cantona's upturned collar or Ibrahimovic and his Three Musketeers facial hair.

Cantona scored many memorable goals for the club, including the volleyed winner in the 1996 FA Cup final Ibrahimovic is no stranger to wonder goals, including a ridiculous overhead kick for Sweden against England Cantona produces a deft and audacious chip to score from the edge of the box against Sunderland Both have been blessed with the capacity to dazzle - audacious chips, ridiculous overhead kicks, wizardry straight from the pen of JK Rowling. And both have absolute conviction in every step they make, chests out pushed way in front of them, and belief in every sentence they speak. Even if, to the rest of us, they make little sense at all. When you buy me, you are buying a Ferrari. Zlatan Ibrahimovic tells Manchester United fans exactly what to expect No wonder, then, that one of United's most famous sons - a man who played alongside Cantona and has managed against Ibrahimovic, saw it fit to compare the two ahead of Zlatan joining the Premier League. 'Whatever you say about Cantona, he was a popular lad, and I get the impression Zlatan is the same,' said Roy Keane.

'Of course he is a good fit for United.' On Thursday, Ibrahimovic told the world, in his own, inimitable style, that he had chosen Old Trafford as his next destination. But it he the 2016 reincarnation of Cantona? Can he resuscitate United just as the Frenchman did before him?Sportsmail follows the trawler...

The Frenchman had a distinct image with a rigid upturned collar which became famous at Old Trafford Ibrahimovic's long locks and facial hair also stand out everywhere he's been, including his spell at PSG International caps (France): 45 Goals: 20 Honours: Division 1 (1989, 1991), Coupe de France (1990), First Division (1992), Charity Shield (1992, 1993, 1994, 1996), Premier League (1993, 1994, 1996, 1997), FA Cup (1994, 1996) Cantona was 26 when he arrived at Old Trafford, almost a decade younger than Ibrahimovic will be when he finally signs this week. His career had largely been spent in Ligue 1, where he made his debut in 1983 at Auxerre and played for five other sides before moving to Leeds. His unpredictable temperament was already well known.

Stories existed of the forward punching an Auxerre team-mate and throwing a ball at a referee during a match at Nimes, not to mention taking to the airwaves for a TV interview and calling French national coach Henri Michel a 'bag of s***'. Ibrahimovic has progressed much further along his career path prior to joining United and has won just about every domestic honour in Europe with Inter Milan, Barca, AC Milan, Ajax and PSG. He's played at the highest level on the international stage ('one thing is for sure, a World Cup without me is nothing to watch' - Zlatan, 2014), something King Eric never managed, and is widely regarded as one of the globe's elite players, whereas Cantona was still establishing a reputation in the game. Cantona was signed by United from Leeds for a meagre £1.2million in the autumn of 1992 Ibrahimovic has won just about every major domestic title in Europe prior to his move to Old Trafford Job description at Old Trafford When Sir Alex Ferguson paid a meagre £1.2million for Cantona, the task at hand was obvious. Re-establish the club as a force in England.

United hadn't been champions of England since 1967 and were in danger of missing out again in 1992-93, as they had a year previously. Deschamps gets by because he always gives 100 per cent, but he will never be anything more than a water carrier. Eric Cantona speaks his mind about the playing ability of former France captain Didier Deschamps in 1996 In the Cantona era, four Premier League titles were won in five seasons. Job done. Ibrahimovic has a similar mandate. He is being paid big bucks to restore United to where they believe their rightful place to be on the top table, and regain local bragging rights from noisy neighbours Manchester City. It helps that the striker fiercely dislikes the footballing mantra of Pep Guardiola, his coach for one unhappy season at Barcelona and soon-to-be City top dog. 'Guardiola started his philosopher thing. I was barely listening,' the Swede said, reflecting on a teamtalk at the Nou Camp. 'Why would I?

It was advanced bull**** about blood, sweat and tears, that kind of stuff.' Cantona was tasked with revitalising United, who had not won the English title since 1967 before he signed Ibrahimovic also has a mandate to entertain at Old Trafford, where the locals have become frustrated of late What did United let themselves in for?

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC: FACTFILE International caps (Sweden): 116 Goals: 62 Honours: Eredivisie (2002, 2004), KNVB Cup (2002), Serie A (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011), Italian Super Cup (2006, 2008, 2011), La Liga (2010), Spanish Super Cup (2009, 2010), UEFA Super Cup (2009), FIFA World Club Cup (2009), Ligue 1 (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), Coupe de France (2015, 2016), Coupe de la Ligue (2014, 2015, 2016), Trophee des Champions (2013, 2014, 2015) Along with a supreme talent, the Red Devils acquired all of Cantona's quirks and eccentricities in 19

92.

Some of them proved unmanageable. Most memorable of all was the Frenchman's 1995 kung fu kick on Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons at Selhurst Park, for which he received an eight-month ban and was told to undertake community service. Ibrahimovic also has a temper. In his book 'I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic' he reveals an altercation with Milan team-mate Oguchi Onyewu in 2010 in which he deliberately targeted the American with 'the worst kind of tackle' in training as retribution for 'trash talk'. 'I headbutted him, and we flew at each other. We wanted to tear each other limb from limb. It was brutal,' he wrote. We were rolling around, punching and kneeing each other. We were crazy and furious — it was like life and death.' Rafael van der Vaart's leg and the chest of Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier can also pay testament to Zlatan's occasional moments of madness, while he has famous had run-ins with coaches, French football authorities and even his own country's women's team.

Cantona was famously banned for football for eight months after launching a kung fu kick at a fan The French maverick was also told to serve community service following the 1995 incident at Selhurst Park Away from football OUTSIDE THE BOX: CANTONA & IBRAHIMOVIC'S VARIED LIVES Cantona has 29 movie and TV credits, according to online database IMDB. His most recent appearance was in the French film 'Marie and the Misfits', released this year, in which he played 'Antoine'. The 50-year-old has won 42 caps for his country in the beach football arena. The word Zlatan was trademarked at the Swedish Patent and Registration Office in 2003. A song written entirely in tribute to Ibrahimovic and sung in his home dialect, entitled 'Who's Da Man', stayed at the top of the Swedish charts for 10 weeks in 2006. Cantona started his pursuit of an acting career with a bit-part role in a 1995 low-budget French film and made a more prominent appearance in the 1998 flick 'Elizabeth'.

He's since played himself in 2009's 'Looking For Eric', in which he delivers the line 'I am not a man, I am Cantona' with the same, unflappable use of the third person that Ibrahimovic brought to Twitter with the 'Dare to Zlatan' phenomenon. Latterly the face of Kronenbourg, a feature on the beach football world tour and a burgeoning political voice in France, Cantona won't sit still. Ibrahimovic is similar. A keen fisherman with a newly-released clothing line, he's found his face on stamps in his native Sweden and helped fund a footballing facility in his hometown of Malmo. Naturally, it took the name 'Zlatan Court'. Ibrahimovic is a keen fisherman away from the football arena and often posts pictures of his catches Cantona has taken to acting, including a role in the 1998 film 'Elizabeth' and 2009's 'Looking For Eric' The Frenchman also became a regular feature at beach football events around the world after retiring The things they've said Cantona and Ibrahimovic have provided some of the most compelling soundbites in football over the past 25 years.

'My best moment? I have a lot of good moments but the one I prefer is when I kicked the hooligan' King Eric refuses to show remorse for kicking Matthew Simmons back in 95. 'We’re looking for an apartment in Paris. If we don’t find anything, then I’ll probably just buy the hotel.' Ibrahimovic on relocating his family after joining PSG. 'I try to find different ways of expressing myself. Without that I will die.' Cantona explains his chameleon approach to life. 'Zlatan doesn't do auditions.' No one, not even Arsene Wenger, can ask the Swede to go on trial. And hands-down the greatest quote ever uttered by a footballer... 'When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.' Cantona on the media circus around his eight-month ban from football. Two extraordinary talents. Two extraordinary minds. One very lucky fanbase. Manchester United has something special to look forward to all over again.

Ibrahimovic will be hoping to emulate Cantona and have a major impact when he starts at Old Trafford Shia LaBeouf Storms Out of 'Nymphomaniac' Press Conference - Video | ExtraTV.com February 09, 2014 Video! Shia Storms Out of Press Conference, Then Wears Paper Bag on Red Carpet Shia LaBeouf didn’t look so good at the “Nymphomaniac” press conference on Sunday in Berlin. The actor was noticeably thin, wearing crumpled clothing and missing a tooth. He seemed disgruntled too, storming out of the room after just one question. LaBeouf's mood didn't seem to improve later in the night, when he showed up to the film's red carpet premiere... with a paper bag over his head. Trouble started when a reporter at the press conference asked about the movie's sex scenes, which are reportedly real . LaBeouf, who filmed the explicit scenes with his girlfriend Mia Goth, replied with a quote from French soccer legend Eric Cantona. “When the seagulls follow the trawler, it’s because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.

Thank you very much.” As the 27-year-old got up to leave, his co-stars, including Uma Thurman and Christian Slater, applauded. Afterward, Slater tried to lighten the mood, telling the crowd, "Obviously, the script is packed with a lot of sardines... one sardine after another." According to the Hollywood Reporter, Shia had a legitimate reason for missing a bottom tooth. He shaved it down for his role in “Fury,” which recently wrapped filming. Later, Shia showed up on the "Nymphomaniac" red carpet wearing a paper bag over his head that read, "I am not famous anymore." LaBeouf is no stranger to controversy. Within the last year, he headbutted a guy in a London bar ( see the video ), and was accused of plagiarizing a comic book writer.

Question: Which word is missing from this Eric Cantona quote: "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think ...... will be thrown into the sea"?
Answer: """SARDINES"""