GARY NEVILLE revealed fellow Manchester United legend Roy Keane refused to shake former referee Mark Clattenburg’s hand during an awkward exchange two years ago.
Neville, 49, Keane, 52, and Clattenburg, 49, worked together in the 2022 World Cup as they provided analysis on TV during the competition in Qatar.
And the Sky Sports pundit remembers walking with the tough Irishman and Arsenal legend Ian Wright one day and meeting the ref who was “strutting” the other way.
Clattenburg went to shake Neville and Wright’s hand, but by the time he got to Keane the legendary United captain forcefully threw his hand away before walking off.
The former England international looked back at that frosty interaction during the latest episode of Stick to Football alongside Keane, Wright, Jamie Carragher and Jill Scott.
Keane told Neville: “He’s your mate Clattenburg! You were all over him at the World Cup.”
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Neville replied: “He’s opened up a can of worms now! So basically, we’re walking along this place in the World Cup, the three of us were having a chat and Mark Clattenburg walks towards us…”
Keane interjected: “‘But he was strutting, wasn’t he?”
Neville responded: “Right, he’s worked with us at the previous World Cups as our refereeing consultant, we trained with him and got to know him a bit.
“So basically, we’re walking along and I’m like, ‘Hi Mark, how are you?’ And then he goes over to Roy to shake his hand and Roy goes [throws his hand away]. No word of a lie!
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“He threw his hand away! And I’m like, ‘What’s going on here?! I know he’s a bit feisty but…’ You [Keane] carried on walking and we were left talking to him and I said, ‘Ref, is there a problem?’.”
Keane then suggested he was unhappy with something Clattenburg said about him in his autobiography titled Whistle Blower.
The midfield great explained: “He’d said something in a book after he worked with us.”
Clattenburg made headlines as he resigned from his role as refereeing consultant at Nottingham Forest.
The ex-Premier League official was appointed in February but left after Forest’s controversial loss to Everton that saw the club releasing a furious post accusing VAR Stuart Attwell of being a Luton Town fan.
Neville went on record urging Clattenburg to resign after all that drama.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
