We don’t see much tunnel drama nowadays, which is a shame.
Remember how excited you were by the raw, intense hatred between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira in that tunnel clash in 2005? There was no way you were tuning out after seeing the pair of footballing enemies almost come to blows before Arsenal and Manchester United took to the Highbury pitch.
You’ve seen the clip hundreds of times but it basically consists of Keane, who tended to enjoy an argument, roaring “I’ll see you out there!” at Vieira.
As the referee attempted to calm the irate Irishman down, Keane claimed that the Gunners captain had tried to get stuck in Gary Neville before he invited Vieira to “pick on one of us.”
A comment towards Neville seemingly prompted the drama and the legendary United right back has given his side to the story.
“It came out of the previous game we played at Old Trafford,” Neville told Soccer AM.
“It was suggested that we were quite tough with [Jose Antonio] Reyes where he got subbed after an hour. I think I’d put a couple on him, I think Phil did and I think Scholesy did. But I got the brunt of it because I was playing against him as a direct opponent.
Gary Neville on Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira's famous tunnel spat 😲 pic.twitter.com/e8pGo1ZcSn
— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) July 26, 2017
“I just remember hearing these footsteps behind me and Vieira shouting “Neville, Neville… You’re not going to kick our players out on this pitch today!”
“Roy obviously turned back, heard him and started having a go at him. And he sort of squirted his water bottle towards Roy. Then all hell broke loose.”
