For such an understated player on the pitch, Patrice Evra has never shied away from controversy.
But, even for the man who was one of the key orchestrators of the France team's mutiny at the 2010 World Cup and whose accusations of racial abuse against Luis Suarez led to the then-Liverpool striker being banned for eight matches, Thursday night's attack on one of his own club's supporters was extraordinary.
The Marseille defender responded to taunts ahead of the Europa League match away to Portuguese side Vitoria by confronting his abusers at the side of the pitch and aiming a kick at the head of one of them. A substitute, he was sent off before kick-off.
UEFA has now opened disciplinary proceedings against him and the 36-year-old faces a lengthy ban.
The act was reminiscent of Eric Cantona's kung-fu kick at Selhurst Park in 1995 which saw him banned from football for nine months.
Yet, while Cantona, and another French footballing genius Zinedine Zidane, were mavericks for whom the red mist was never far away, Evra has been a calm and reliable left-back throughout his career.
In his eight-year stint at Manchester United, which earned him five Premier League titles and a Champions League winners' medal, he was never once sent off.
Born in Senegal, one of 25 children, and having moved to France as a baby, Evra made his name at Monaco before joining Sir Alex Ferguson's United in January 2006.
He made an inauspicious start, hauled off a half-time on his debut in a Manchester derby defeat, but responded to become one of the club's leading players.
And he was never afraid of standing his ground, no occasion more evident than when he accused Suarez of racial abuse during a match in 2011.
The pair clashed again when United and Liverpool met at Old Trafford later that season when Suarez refused to shake the Frenchman's hand. Evra grabbed his arm to try and force a handshake, but was shrugged off.
Evra continued to enjoy success after leaving Old Trafford in 2014, winning the league and cup double in consecutive seasons at Juventus.
He also resurrected his international career, having been banned for five games for his role in the players' rebellion during France's World Cup campaign in South Africa.
Evra had been named as captain for the tournament by coach Raymond Domenech and played in the first two group games, but he then led a player revolt against the decision to expel Nicolas Anelka from the squad.
He was stripped of the captaincy and faced calls to be banned from the team for life, but returned to the fold under Laurent Blanc.
His return to French domestic football with Marseille last January has not worked out, though.
That Evra has not won over the club's fans was in full evidence at the Estadio D Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes as supporters reportedly taunted him over the viral videos which have turned him into something of a social media star.
The video clip of his reaction may just end up being his most popular viral yet.