MARTIN KEOWN finally apologised for his iconic scream in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s face live on TV.
The former Arsenal defender famously celebrated wildly when the ex-Manchester United striker slammed his 2003 penalty against the crossbar.
TNT SportsMartin Keown and Ruud van Nistelrooy were reunited at the King Power Stadium[/caption]
TNT SportsThey had a long, slightly tense handshake[/caption]
TNT SportsThe pair were in a good mood and buried their old rivalry[/caption]
News Group Newspapers LtdKeown famously celebrated Van Nistelrooy’s penalty miss at Old Trafford in 2003[/caption]
Keown got right up to the dejected Dutchman following his miss in the final moments of the pulsating Premier League showdown between the Gunners and Red Devils at Old Trafford.
The no-nonsense centre-half has constantly defended his behaviour for more than two decades.
But as Keown and Van Nistelrooy were reunited at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, the ex-England defender did say sorry – although did not explicitly mention what for.
As Leicester manager Van Nistelrooy spoke to TNT Sports before kick-off against Arsenal, the pair put their past clashes behind them.
The duo shook hands for a long while and Van Nistelrooy asked: “Martin how are you? Good to see you.”
Keown replied: “Nice to see you after all these years.”
Van Nistelrooy, 48, added: “It has been a while. I have seen you once, at Villa Park, remember?”
Then Keown offered out his olive branch.
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He said: “Apologies for all the shenanigans that went on back in the day.”
But Van Nistelrooy clearly holds no grudges.
He responded: “Nah. What happens on the pitch stays on the pitch.”
Joe Cole piped up: “He’s never apologised for kicking me, ever.”
Keown, 58, then joked: “I thought you were going to stamp on me.”
Van Nistelrooy then added: “I’m happy to have him in front of me, not in the back of me.
“It was good. It was a good rivalry, wasn’t it?”
Keown quipped: “Great days. I’m glad you’re standing there and not next to me because you used to love to stand on me.”
Van Nistelrooy laughed: “I would like to block you – and then fall over.”
The panel then briefly discussed Van Nistelrooy and TNT host Lynsey Hipgrave climbing mountains in Rio de Janeiro together – before moving on to the task at hand for the relegation-threatened Foxes.
Once Van Nistelrooy headed off back to the home dressing room, Keown denied he had really said sorry by asking: “Was that an apology?”
"Apologies for all the shenanigans that went on back in the day." 💪
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 15, 2025
Ruud van Nistelrooy catches up with Martin Keown to settle the differences from their playing days 🤣
🎙 @lynseyhipgrave1 | 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/ui3yaWiSWF
He then continued: “Since I’ve finished playing, the number of strikers I’ve had to apologise to…
“It was never personal – I treated every striker exactly the same, maybe a bit of extra special spice for Ruud.
“He was very clever, he would stamp on your feet, his movement off the shoulder, really clever.”
Fans on social media enjoyed the interaction from the two old foes.
One said: “Class act from both.”
Another wrote: “Heartwarming banter. Love it.”
A third added: “Actually quite nice to see a moment like this.”
And a final user posted: “Glad he finally admitted to diving. Such a cheat when he was a player.”
Others referenced the infamous “sorry” scene from The Inbetweeners, one labelled Keown “soft” and plenty tweeted the clip to Simon Jordan to add fuel to his rivalry with the former Arsenal man.
GettyKeown said sorry for the ‘shenanigans’ of yesteryear[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
