WAYNE ROONEY has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson was left “in shock” after the infamous Pizzagate row at Old Trafford.
Manchester United and Arsenal came to blows in what has been dubbed ‘Battle of the Buffet’ or ‘Pizzagate’ following United’s 2-0 win over the Gunners in October 2004.
Man Utd ended Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run in October 2004
Tensions were high throughout the match
Rooney scored during the game
The result marked the end of Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run and the fierce rivalry between the two sides ultimately caused tensions to boil over after full-time, leading to a huge brawl in the tunnel.
Among the altercation, then-Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas launched a slice of PIZZA which then hit Ferguson, who was caught in the crossfire.
Rooney has now admitted that the United players were left fuming after learning that their manager had been hit.
In his column for The Times, the United legend wrote: “After full-time, I remember being one of the first into the dressing room but then hearing shouting in the tunnel outside.
“The manager walked in and you could see he had been hit by something, only you didn’t know what.
“Then you saw the sauce on him. He took his top off and he was clearly worried and shocked.
“That knocked me. Alex Ferguson was someone I’d watched growing up, and then seen, as a player, how fierce and demanding he was.
“Then you see him in shock: you take the football out of it and understand that he’s an older man and just come under attack.
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“We wanted to defend him and from there things spilt out into the corridor. There was a bit of pushing and I think a few punches may have been thrown.
“Nothing happened that was too extreme — it was a bit like one of those mêlées you see on the pitch – but the tunnel is so tight at Old Trafford that players have to jostle past each other at the best of times, and so this was a stand-off that got physical. It got split up quickly, though.”
Fabregas recently admitted that he threw the pizza because he “didn’t have the courage” to fight.
