David Beckham had to be held back after Sir Alex Ferguson threw a football boot at him.

The former footballer has opened up about the infamous changing room row back in 2003 when the Manchester United manager exploded with rage after the team's 2-0 FA Cup loss to Arsenal - and revealed he saw red after the boss lobbed a shoe at his face.

Speaking in new Netflix documentary 'Beckham', the sports star explained: "We walked in the changing room and the boss is fuming. I can see it by his face.

"And when you see the boss' face like this, you don't want to be anywhere near him. It is a face that no one can do, trust me ... I went back at the boss and said 'no' and then I swore. I said the f-word. And then I saw him change, and I was like, 's***, I really shouldn't have said that'. I think I said the f-word too many times."

Ferguson then hurled a boot at Beckham and it struck him just above the eye, leaving the sports man seething with rage. He said of the incident: "I went at him - someone had to hold me back."

Beckham's former teammate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also revealed it was his boot that ended up being thrown at his pal. He said: "When you lose you take your boots off and wait for the gaffer to talk and he starts effing and blinding at David. 'Look at the video', David says. [Ferguson says] 'I don't need a f****** video, I've got my eyes'. I could then just see my boot flying."

Beckham was left with a facial injury after the incident and is said to have needed stitches. He was later photographed with a bandage on his face.

Ferguson recalled the incident in his book 'Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography', writing: "He was around 12 feet from me. Between us on the floor lay a row of boots. David swore. I moved towards him, and as I approached I kicked a boot. It hit him right above the eye.

"Of course he rose to have a go at me and the players stopped him. 'Sit down,' I said. 'You've let your team down. You can argue as much as you like'."

He added: "The next day the story was in the press. In public an Alice band highlighted the damage inflicted by the boot. It was in those days that I told the board David had to go."

The footballer moved to Spanish side Real Madrid at the end of the 2002/2003 season.