04 October 2023 , 06:00
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David Beckham has admitted he still "beats himself up" 25 years on from the red card he received against Argentina that made him public enemy No.1 and plunged him into depression.
Beckham, 48, was sent off while playing for England in the knockout stages of the 1998 World Cup in France, before Argentina went on to win on penalties as the Three Lions crashed out. The vitriol and backlash aimed at Beckham - then just 23 - reached new heights on English shores, including the sickening lasting image of his effigy hanging from a building.
The Manchester United star would eventually win back the England fans after his goal fired them to the 2002 World Cup when Beckham was captain, before he exorcised the ghosts of '98 by scoring the winning penalty against Argentina in the group stages. But the harsh scars of his painful experience still chip away at Beckham even some years after his retirement.
“Now, at 48 years old, I beat myself up about it,” he says in Beckham , a new Netflix documentary charting his storied career. England were tied at 2-2 with Argentina as the second half got under way in St Etienne - but just moments later, Beckham was shown a straight red card for a petulant and needless kick out at opponent Diego Simeone.
“ I made a stupid mistake. I t changed my life,” Beckham admits. "I felt very vulnerable and alone," recalls Beckham, who had slumped into the arms of his father, Ted, sobbing after meeting his family immediately after the game.
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David Beckham's sending off for England against Argentina made him public enemy No.1 (Bob Thomas Sports Photography via Getty Images)
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But even he could not have predicted the storm he would encounter on his return to the UK once England had been eliminated, as rival fans would abuse and spit at him in the street. He even recalled how one member of the paparazzi asked him: 'H ow do you feel about letting your country down? You are a disgrace.'
Friends remarked on how they would have to escort Beckham to the bathroom in restaurants or walk quickly between venues when out in public to protect him from any threats. "I don't think I have ever talked about it just because I can't," Beckham explains. "I find it hard to talk through what I went through because it was so extreme. The whole country hated me. Hated me."
The fallout sent Beckham's mental health spiralling, as wife Victoria describes in the documentary: "He was broken. He was absolutely broken. He was in pieces. He was depressed, absolutely clinically depressed. It pained me so much. I still want to kill those people.”
Beckham has opened up on the sickening backlash he received after his red cardOpening up on the torment he suffered in his own words, Beckham revealed: "I wasn’t eating. I wasn’t sleeping. I was a mess. I didn’t know what to do." While England's fans have moved on, Beckham conceded he still can't accept his own role in the incident and how the aftermath impacted those around him.
“It brought a lot of attention that I would never wish on anyone, let alone my parents," he adds. "I can’t forgive myself for that. That's the tough part what happened in a way. I was the one that made the mistake. It is only now I beat myself up about it."
Beckham showed incredible strength of character to bounce back with strong support from those around him at Manchester United, whom he would go on to win an historic and memorable treble with just a year later. Beckham is released on Netflix on October 4.