‘Phil would be dead now’ – Roy Keane jokes Man Utd legend stopped him killing Gary Neville’s brother
ROY KEANE joked Phil Neville “would be dead now” if his mistake had cost Manchester United the Treble.
The pair were both at fault during the famous 1999 FA Cup semi-final win over Arsenal.
But Keane could not resist a cheeky dig at his former team-mate – and credited Peter Schmeichel for saving Neville.
Discussing the best rivalries in football on Stick To Football, Keane, Gary Neville, Ian Wright and Jill Scott got on to the peak years of Manchester United vs Arsenal – managed by Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
And then more specifically on to the epic FA Cup replay clash at Villa Park in April 1999.
United won the game 2-1 after extra-time thanks to Ryan Giggs’ memorable solo goal.
David Beckham had fired the Red Devils in front from range early on before Dennis Bergkamp equalised in the second half.
Nicolas Anelka’s goal was ruled out for offside before Keane headed for an early bath after two yellow cards – diving in on Bergkamp and then Marc Overmars.
Then Phil slipped and tripped Ray Parlour in the box to give Arsenal the perfect chance to win it in the closing minutes.
Schmeichel produced the goods, though, diving the right way to save the penalty and send the replay into extra-time, where Giggs fired United through in style.
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER
But it could all have been very different if the Great Dane went the other way.
Discussing the drama in the Stick to Football studio, Keane said: “That semi-final was mad.
“I was sent off, I think I was covering for you [Gary] in the right-back area. Where were you?
“I was covering for you, I didn’t start there. I don’t mind you going forward but you’ve got to get back.”
Gary said: “I don’t see how that game can ever be beaten for incident, goals, sendings off, last-minute missed penalties.
“Roy you were so comfortable in the right-back area, what was the problem?
“He came over rashly and slid in on Overmars having already been booked by the way.
“I’ve never thought of it from your point of view but you think about the Treble that season and I always think about my brother giving away the penalty in the last minute.
“Then obviously Bergkamp misses against Schmeichel.
“To this day, I still shiver a little bit for my brother thinking if that penalty had gone in.
‘HE’S GOT PREVIOUS’
“But then I think of you, if you lose that game where you’ve been sent off, you carry that a lot when you’ve been sent off, it’s horrible.”
But deadpan Keane snapped back immediately: “We would have killed Phil. Phil would be dead now. He would.
“He’s got previous as well, Phil, lunging in.”
That was a reference to Neville giving away a late penalty as England were dumped out of Euro 2000 following a 3-2 defeat to Romania.
The Irishman’s quip prompted the Stick To Football group to burst into laughter.
Scott threw her support behind the younger Neville brother before Keane did clarify: “I like Phil.”
Phil made 386 appearances for his boyhood club then finished his career with eight seasons at Everton.
United went on to beat Newcastle in the FA Cup final, either side of clinching the Premier League title and the Champions League, beating Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp.
Elsewhere on the latest episode of the football podcast, Keane and Neville argued over whether right-back is the “easiest” position to play in before discussing their transfer values in today’s market.
Wright, meanwhile, revealed he holds a small black object in his hand while on air as a stress mechanism to help relax himself and keep him calm when the cameras are rolling.