"There's history with Van Nistelrooy and us for a while, so
when he missed the penalty we got a little carried away.
Martin Keown felt he got suspended last year because of Van
Nistelrooy, so when Patrick Vieira was sent off this time
Martin lost it.
"We all kind of ganged up on Van Nistelrooy at the end. What
we did wasn't right and it wasn't pretty. But at least it
showed we care. It's tense in the tunnel before a United
game. But I don't really talk to their players. I said hello
to Solskjaer once, but that's about it.
"I made the decision a while ago that I would be friends
with anybody off the pitch but when I'm playing I won't talk
to them. It's just easier. We'd lost 3-0 in the previous
game to Inter Milan so if we'd lost this match too we'd have
been slaughtered again. It was very important for us that
they missed that penalty - particularly as our favourite
player was taking it.”
He has an opinion on Rio as well:
"I can understand players wanting to stick up for their team-
mate but, at the same time, the rules say if you miss a drug
test it's the same as having a positive result. I could
never refuse to play. A drugs test is very important. It's a
serious thing and I could never imagine forgetting one. I
don't know the circumstances but they can't let things like
that go because then everybody would say they forgot and it
would be like: 'Give me a fine and I'd do it again next
time.' You can't have that."