Roy Keane makes feelings clear on Erling Haaland's dad amid bitter 28-year feud

Roy Keane's feud with Erling Haaland's father Alf-Inge, has lasted for almost 30 years

Roy Keane is adamant he never intended to seriously injure Alf-Inge Haaland with that infamous tackle over 20 years ago.

The feud between Keane and Haaland first began when the former Manchester United man tore his anterior cruciate ligament while playing against Leeds United in 1997. Haaland boldly stood over the Irishman and accused the midfielder of faking injury.

In an interview discussing the moment, the ex-striker said: "He tried to tackle me and I got the free kick. He was lying on the ground, and I just told him to, 'Get up' as you normally do with players - nothing more than that. I wasn't trying to intend anything against him, but obviously, he took that very hard."

This sparked a fury inside of Keane, who met Haaland four years later in a Manchester derby at Old Trafford, with the Norwegian representing City.

Seeing his opportunity for revenge, Keane brutally lunged at Haaland and was sent off for stamping on his knee with serious force, something he admitted wasn't an accident in his 2002 autobiography.

He said: "I'd waited long enough. I f****** hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that, you c***. And don't ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries."

Keane received a three-match ban and a £5,000 fine at the time, but this was increased once he admitted malice in his book. A further £150,000 fine and a five-match suspension followed.

However, the 54-year-old is adamant to this day that he didn't intend to seriously injure Haaland. Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast earlier this month, Keane said: "This is my last time talking about this tackle, the Haaland one.

"I still don’t think it was a bad tackle, I really don’t. I don’t care what anyone says. It’s not as bad as everyone thinks it is. When you play sport at that speed we played at, there’s a difference between hurting somebody and injuring somebody - big difference. That’s my argument. I was trying to hurt him, not injure somebody."

Haaland ended up retiring in 2003 due to an injury on the opposite leg that Keane targeted. While the United icon tends to use this as the reason for his lack of accountability in the Norwegian's premature exit from football, the ex-City man feels different.

Speaking in 2024, Haaland said: "Is that a coincidence, or isn’t it? If you're in the ground and someone hits you in the right leg, you can still twist your other leg. It can get injured and that's probably what happened.

"I haven't played a full 90 minutes after that incident, that's the hard fact. And people can judge whatever they want. Obviously, I found out afterwards that it was with intent and he was seeking revenge and all these things. I think that's a bit sad. Sad for football and it was not good for me either at the time."

Keane continues to cite that Haaland played for his country just four days after the incident and also appeared for City afterwards. He said: "Haaland finished the game and played four days later, for Norway.

"A couple of years later, he tried to claim that he'd had to retire because of the tackle. He was going to sue me. It was a bad tackle but he was still able to play four days later."