Fabregas returns to Old Trafford with memories of the “pizza scandal”

Fabregas’s return to Old Trafford revives memories of the “pizza scandal”, an incident after an Arsenal-Manchester United match in October 2004. Arsenal went into that fixture with the chance to reach a 50th consecutive Premier League match without defeat. The run ended in a loss, and tensions then rose between the players in the tunnel leading to the dressing rooms.

Kooora reports that, during the confrontation, a piece of pizza was thrown and hit Ferguson. The episode later became known as “Pizzagate” and, according to Kooora, was described by the English press as one of football’s best-known stories. The person who threw the pizza remained unidentified for years, as suspicion increasingly focused on Fabregas.

Ferguson had identified the Spanish player as a suspect. Martin Keown, Arsenal’s former defender, also fuelled speculation when he referred to “a very talented Spanish player” without explicitly naming him.

In 2018, during an appearance on Sky, Fabregas recounted what he had seen: “Suddenly I heard voices and wondered what was going on. Then I came out with the piece of pizza in my hand, and I saw Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand and Martin Keown; everyone was pushing and shoving.” He said he had wanted to join the fight but did not know how to do so. “I just threw the piece of pizza. When I saw who I had hit, that wasn’t what I wanted to do.”

Fabregas later confirmed that he had apologised to Ferguson in person. Speaking to beIN Sports, he said: “I found out later that I had hit Sir Ferguson, and I had already apologised publicly, and I will apologise again. It wasn’t intentional, just a moment that happened spontaneously. I was young.” He added jokingly that he would not throw a piece of pizza now and would go straight into the fight instead.

In 2022, during an interview with ITV, Fabregas also discussed Arsenal’s run and the criticism he faced: “We had played 49 games unbeaten. They were very competitive, but they were also very clever. I also received a lot of criticism.” He ended another account of the incident by saying he threw the pizza because he lacked the strength, or perhaps the courage, to join the fight.