Manchester United Legend Responds To Roy Keane's Claims That They Fought On Pre-Season Tour
Gary Pallister has insisted that his fight with fellow Manchester United legend Roy Keane on a pre-season tour was “more of an altercation.”
Keane was infamously involved in a heated confrontation with fellow Red Devils legend Peter Schmeichel during United’s pre-season tour of Asia in 1998.
The 50-year-old Irishman claimed that Nicky Butt “refereed the fight” and he “head-butted” Schmeichel, who walked away from their brawl with a “black eye.”
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Keane also told former United teammate Gary Neville that he clashed with Pallister in Marbella, Spain.
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“The good thing with me and Peter fighting that night -- and it was his fault, he held his hand up and apologised -- was that it was all fine,” he said on Sky Sports’ The Overlap.
“We were grown men in pre-season, a bit of tension in the group, which can happen. We were young men all playing to get into the team and for a contract. And Peter wanted a fight.
“I had a fight with Pally [Gary Pallister] in Marbella, and I was with Pally a few weeks ago, great guy!
“I vaguely remember [Sir] Bobby Charlton opening the door and seeing me and him; I bet he was thinking f*****g hell! But I think we won the league that year, so it helped.”
Pallister, who made 329 appearances for United from 1989 to 1998, has played down Keane’s remarks over their fight in pre-season.
The 56-year-old still holds Keane in high regard and insisted their “heated exchange” was “probably because we had a drink.”
Speaking to Free Super Tips, Pallister said: “It was probably because we had a couple of drinks and it wasn't a fight, more of an altercation shall we say.
“It was nothing, I wouldn't call it a fight, more of a heated exchange but it was probably because we had a drink.
“It was forgotten about the next day and it was never a problem between us, Roy is a great person and was a great leader in our dressing room.
“We all know what he's like, he has a strong opinion on things as we see in his punditry, but it doesn't mean everyone agrees with him.
“It happens all over in the football world and the game we played was very physical.
“I look back on some of the training games we played and whether it was young vs old or European vs British, these five-a-side games could get brutal.
“That will to win was always there on the training pitch and sometimes it spills over and people get annoyed.
“I never saw too many full-on fights, but there were plenty of scuffles and things said during.
“But the great thing was in our day if we didn't have a midweek game we would go and have a few beers in the pub.
“The general consensus was if there were any issues, then they would be brought up in these kinds of meetings once a couple of pints loosened the tongue.
“It would get aired there and then and it never lingered in the dressing room.
“I'm not sure you could do it nowadays, but that's what we did, and it was good for the team with the fact you wanted to go out and socialise with your teammates.
“It brought us a lot closer, and it aired out any potential issues, so it was good on all accounts for us.”
Topics: Roy Keane, Premier League, England, Football, Man Utd
Adnan Riaz