'Roy Keane would've ripped my head off if Uriah Rennie hadn't have intervened'
Jason McAteer believes there's no doubt what would have happened to him had referee Uriah Rennie not stepped in to restrain Roy Keane at the Stadium of Light back in 2002: he would have had his head "ripped off".
The two former Republic of Ireland team-mates clashed violently during a match between Manchester United and Sunderland - a match that quickly descended into chaos. The fixture, already charged due to Keane's recent and controversial World Cup walk-out, reached boiling point when McAteer went after Keane both verbally and physically.
The midfielder targeted Keane with rough tackles and taunts, even mocking his newly published autobiography. Keane, never one to back down, reacted with unfiltered rage. In fact, had Rennie, who passed away aged 65 on Sunday, not leaped between them, a mass brawl might have broken out.
"They both tumble onto the turf. Limbs flailing. Elbows and knees," wrote Rennie in his 2022 book Your Show, recounting the incident. "Roy's reacting now, fury in his eyes, head's gone. This feud has history... grab Roy, save Jason?"
As Keane's temper boiled over, Rennie, a martial arts expert with a reputation for assertiveness, charged in. "Only a moment to think. You take matters in your own giant black hands with a cliff-edged fearlessness. You get in between the two... You grab Roy, grip onto his shirt like you did a few seasons ago at White Hart Lane, but tighter."
It worked - at least for a few minutes. Rennie successfully held Keane back and prevented the scene from turning into a full-scale melee. McAteer later acknowledged the significance of that moment, crediting Rennie for saving his bacon.
"Uriah Rennie took some stick for stepping between us but I am thankful he did because Roy would have ripped my head off," he admitted a month later.
Though things cooled momentarily the conflict wasn't over. Keane later delivered a brutal elbow to the back of McAteer's head, an act that left Rennie no choice but to send him off.
Even Sir Alex Ferguson, who normally defended his players to the hilt and needed no invitation to slate refereeing decisions, admitted Rennie's call was justified. "The referee had no choice but to send him off," Ferguson said afterward. "Roy is the first United player to be sent off for this offence... the use of the elbow is a growing problem in our game." The club declined to appeal, and Keane was fined £150,000.
In hindsight, Rennie reflected on the unusual methods he used that day. "I didn't follow FA protocol," he admitted. "You throw away the rule book and intervene early with action, words won't do, stopping Keane from doing something he shouldn't.
"You stare Keane dead in the eyes, still clutching a fistful of his shirt... Messy Irish history. Messy World Cup history. Keane is fiddling with his captain's armband as you reason with him. He's only half listening, facing you but eyeing up the Sunderland player who has retreated behind you to safety. Although he might not be showing it now, maybe in his own way, he respects you."
But Keane himself never showed contrition. Speaking in 2023 on the Stick to Football podcast, he doubled down. "He deserved it," Keane said of the elbow.
Asked if he and McAteer were friendly, he replied, "Absolutely not," before adding: "He was one of those players who couldn't stop running their mouths. I didn't mind lads kicking me or booting me but McAteer as usual had plenty to say for himself."
For his part, McAteer didn't mince words either. The former Liverpool and Blackburn player described their relationship as "toxic" and later hit back, calling Keane a "clown" and telling him to "bore off."
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