During the Manchester derby on Saturday, Manchester United supporters were heard singing a song that alluded to Erling’s father, Alf-Inge Haaland.
Throughout their careers, Haaland senior and Roy Keane engaged in a few legendary brawls, the most well-known of which occurred in the April 2001 Manchester derby.
The Haalands and Roy Keane.
In his 2002 autobiography, Keane acknowledged that his foul on Haaland, which resulted in a red card, was premeditated.
The Corkman claimed that he was making up for a four-year-old incident in which the then-Leeds player accused him of fabricating an injury.
Despite the misconception that the foul put an end to Haaland’s career, he continued playing for his country for a few days after and didn’t retire for another two years, as Keane noted last week in an interview on The Tommy Tiernan Show.
Stretford End chanting: 'Haaland, Haaland, how's your dad?' and then 'Keano, Keano', #mufc
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) January 14, 2023
Haaland.
While Keane and Haaland might have preferred that the incident be forgotten, the Man United supporters brought it up on Saturday because of the latter’s son’s attendance at Old Trafford.
With Erling Haaland starting for City, the home supporters greeted the prolific forward with chants of “Haaland, Haaland, how’s your dad?,” followed by renditions of “Keano, Keano,” in support of their beloved ex-skipper.
Keane himself will probably be rolling his eyes if watching the match at home, while the chants are unlikely to go down well inside the Haaland camp.