David Beckham may have retired some ten years ago, but he still remains one of the most popular people in the soccer world. His affiliation with England, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and the MLS means that the former England captain will remain in the public eye for longer.
The Manchester United legend did not have the best of years in 1998, when his red card in the round of 16 against Argentina in the World Cup caused England to crash out of the tournament. This incident affected his image in his home country, with some super fans threatening his family, including his wife, Victoria Beckham.
Victoria Beckham’s disturbing experience
1998 was a tough year for the Beckham family due to David Bekcham’s involvement in England’s round-of-16 loss to Argentina in the World Cup that took place in France. Beckham quickly became a public enemy back in England, which made several fans target him with taunting chants at away games, but the sad part was that his wife was not left out of these chants.
In preparation for the release of Netflix’s David Beckham documentary, the former England captain revealed how hard it was to cope with seeing his wife taunted by these disgusting chants, especially at away games whenever he represented Manchester United.
“Then they start singing songs about Victoria. There was one song that she would kill me for singing. Every football fan sang this song,” Beckham revealed.
“Posh Spide takes it up the a**se,” his wife revealed after the cameras cut to her. “Excuse my language, not very ladylike. 75,000 people were singing that. It’s embarrassing, it’s hurtful,” Victoria added. “I remember sitting down, and the lady sitting next to me turning to me, she said, ‘Do you want a polo?’ She didn’t know what to say! Do I want a polo? What do you say when you’re sat next to someone and 75,000 people say you take it up the a**se? We did not know what to do; it felt like we were drowning,” she revealed.
Why was David Beckham sent off in 1998 World Cup?
David Beckham was sent off in the round of 16 match against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup for kicking Diego Simeone, who has been Atletico Madrid’s manager for several years now. With the match tied at 2-2, Diego Simeone fouled the England star, rubbing the back of Beckham’s head with his knuckles in an aggressive way. In response to Simeone’s poor attitude, David Beckham kicked Simeone while still on the ground, prompting referee Kim Milton Nielsen to give him a red card.
England went on to lose the match 4-3 on penalties as David Beckham faced a backlash from English media and fans. While he struggled to cope with the backlash, he received solace from Sir Alex Ferguson, who gave him a few weeks off to process the incident.
“He said to me, ‘Go away for a few weeks, come back to the club, and you’ve got us.’ That was all I needed to hear,” Beckham told Gary Neville in an Overlap interview in 2022.
