SNOOKER legend Ken Doherty once told Sir Alex Ferguson “go f*** yourself”.
The Irishman, now 54, stormed to the World Snooker Championship title in 1997.
He claimed glory by beating Stephen Hendry 18-12 at The Crucible, but then put his foot in it as he celebrated.
Dublin star Doherty is a huge Manchester United fan.
But when he received a call from Sir Alex following his Crucible success, he thought his pals were on the wind-up.
After picking up the phone to the United icon, Doherty delivered an X-rated response.
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Recounting the experience, he told the Mail: “The voice at the other end went, ‘Kenny, Alex Ferguson here, I know you are a big Manchester United fan, how about parading that trophy up at Old Trafford?’ and I told him to go f*** himself!
“I thought it was my mate joking! He goes, ‘Kenny, I’m not going to ask you twice, it’s Alex Ferguson’ and I said, ‘Sorry Mr Ferguson’.
“I went up the day they were picking up the Premiership trophy against West Ham. It was incredible. The roar I got walking out at Old Trafford was one of the most memorable days of my life.”
Doherty’s 1997 triumph saw him receive a hero’s welcome home with an open-top bus parade through Dublin — and a police chief even told him that crime stopped in the city for hours during the crucial frames.
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He continued: “I suppose May 5, 1997 is the day that defined my life really — wherever you go after that day you are referred to as the world champion.
“When I saw Alex Higgins win it in 1982, I knew I wanted to be a snooker player, and then there was Dennis Taylor also from Northern Ireland in 1985.
“So to emulate them and win it was a dream come true, and especially to beat Stephen in the final who was going for six in a row and hadn’t lost there for so long. That was the icing on the cake.
“The open-top bus was just unbelievable, that’s something you get for the Ireland football team or Olympic heroes — not snooker.
“But it had that impact.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
