Roy Keane stirs up old feud with Alf-Inge Haaland in sharp World Cup remark
Roy Keane didn’t hold back when responding to Alf-Inge Haaland’s comments about Norway’s World Cup loss to England.
On Saturday night, England secured a spot in the World Cup semi-finals for only the fourth time, beating Norway 2-1. Jude Bellingham was the hero, scoring the equaliser to make it 1-1 in regular time and then netting the winning goal early in extra time.
This win sets up a big semi-final showdown between England and the defending champions Argentina on Wednesday night. Sadly for Norway, their surprise run in the tournament ended there.
After the game, former Norway player Alf-Inge Haaland, who is also the father of Manchester City star Erling Haaland, took to social media to criticize the referee, Clement Turpin. He wrote, “You were saved by the referee. I hope you go on to win the World Cup, but I feel we were unfairly robbed today.” Later, in a comment that he deleted, he added, “Well done Bellingham and referee.”
Not long after, Keane, who had a fierce rivalry with Haaland back in the day, shared his thoughts on the referee’s calls but couldn’t resist a little dig at Haaland. On the Stick to Football podcast, Keane said, “I think the referee gave England quite a few of the 50-50 decisions. Not big incidents, but it seemed like he leaned a bit towards England. That happens in football. I’m not saying the ref cost Norway the game, but a few calls could have gone the other way.
“Will Haaland even remember the match? Every time I see him at games, he seems to be drinking. If you’ve had a few drinks, you probably see things differently.”
One of the most talked-about moments was when Norway had a potential winning goal disallowed because Haaland was judged to have pushed Elliot Anderson. Many think this was unfair, but Keane believed the call was right. He said, “I’ll always try to back Norway a bit, but a push is a push, and then he heads the ball, so the decision stands.
“After games, families and fans get emotional. You want to give them the benefit of the doubt. But when people wake up tomorrow, they won’t say, ‘The referee cost us.’ You can argue over a few decisions, but you can’t say the ref decided the game.”
Keane’s remarks went viral on social media, and Haaland wasn’t shy about replying with a sharp comeback: “Once a p***k, always a p***k.”
Meanwhile, football experts Gary Neville and Ian Wright agreed with Keane and criticized Haaland’s social media comments. Wright said, “Is that sour grapes from Alf-Inge Haaland? I think that was a low blow.” Neville added, “I didn’t think we were lucky with the referee in this game. We were lucky against Ghana when that penalty wasn’t given. That’s when you know you’ve got away with one.”
The England vs. Argentina match kicks off at 8:00 PM BST at the Atlanta Stadium. The winner will face either France or Spain in the final.