Former Manchester United players and current Sky Sport pundits Gary Neville and Roy Keane have questioned the ethics and sportsmanship of ‘certain’ Italian teams in the Champions League during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The 1999 treble winners were joined by fellow pundits and ex-England internationals Ian Wright and Jamie Carragher for Neville’s series The Overlap, which is backed by Sky in the UK.
In their hour-long talk show, the former players discussed their experiences playing against European sides, which prompted questions over the Italian teams’ cleanliness in matches from the former Manchester United players.
“There’s a few teams I’ve played against, and generally it was either Barcelona or Real Madrid, no other team has done it to me that you doubt that you’re good enough,” said Keane, who put in a stellar performance in the semi-finals against Juventus, despite being suspended for the eventual Champions League final against Bayern Munich in 1999.
“Maybe Juventus a little bit in the early days,” his former teammate Nevillle suggested.
Keane replied: “No, I never had it with the Italian teams, because that was kind of a physical challenge.”
Neville later launched a series of accusations against ‘certain teams’ and their levels of fitness, but decided against naming any specific sides or individuals.
“I think there were a few teams that we played against that weren’t clean, we thought that at the time,” Neville noted.
“Must be the Italian teams,” Carragher joked in response.
Keane then offered his opinions, suggesting: “When we played certain teams, I would be walking off and I’d be absolutely shattered. I’d be looking at players I’d played against, a couple of Italian teams, and they looked like they’d not even played a match.
“We’re not naming players or clubs.”
Neville then backed him up: “My point is, when you look back at what came after in cycling and other sports with doctors, we thought at the time that there were some things, like I’m sorry, at the time, we were fit, we weren’t drinkers … that’s not right, there’s something not right.
“I came off the pitch against an Italian team and I thought, that’s not right, I’m sorry. And I know a couple of other lads in the mid-2000s that thought the same thing.”