Paolo Di Canio attracted headlines across the world back in September 1998.
Then at Sheffield Wednesday, the maverick Italian's scarcely-believable push on referee Paul Alcock during a game against Arsenal understandably earned him a lengthy suspension. It would become one of the Premier League's most iconic moments, with Di Canio's actions following a heated argument with a clutch of Arsenal players.
Now, almost 24 years later, the incident has been recreated - albeit with tongues firmly in cheeks. Saturday saw Di Canio turn out in a charity football match for his old club Wednesday as an Owls legends' side took on a Doncaster legends' team all for a good cause at Rovers' Eco Power Stadium.
And during the second half of the good-natured match the referee took 'a tumble' after Di Canio took umbrage with a decision.
Thankfully, unlike at Hillsborough all those years ago, the Italian saw the funny side and gesticulated with the official before giving him a high-five and laughing off the incident. The match, raising funds raise funds for the Eve Merton Dreams Trust, saw a number of star-studded names take part, including former Wednesday legends Chris Waddle and Des Walker.
Speaking about the original incident in recent years - which landed Di Canio an 11-game ban - he said: "When I saw Paul Alcock, in a rash moment, put in my face the red card I lost my temper. I lost everything. I thought to myself ‘I had received the elbow, felt this pain and also you punish me? I pushed him away - without any violent conduct. It was a push, which was wrong.”
Alcock, who sadly passed away in 2018, recounted the 1998 incident some years later, repeatedly referring to Di Canio as ‘the Italian’. Di Canio insists the pair had spoken amicably since. Alcock said: "The Italian threw the toys out of the pram. It looked silly at the time and I don’t want to play it back or look at it, but at the time I was off balance.
"There was no way you would feign something like that on national TV. I was unbalanced. I ended up being the rogue in the whole thing. I had TV crews outside my house when I got home that night with my four-year-old son asking me to get the Queen to send them away.
“I suppose if it wasn’t Di Canio, people would not remember me as a referee, so I have something to thank the Italian for. I was in the wrong place at the time, shoved by the wrong Italian. I refereed the next Saturday, but it took me a couple of weeks to get my head around it. There was so much written about it, but nobody ever spoke to me about it.
“I’ve Bill Clinton to thank really. His affair with Monica Lewinsky took me off the front pages!”
