Gary Neville managed to stir the pot with a flabbergasted Roy Keane
Fasika Zelealem Senior Sports Reporter
12:05, 04 Jan 2026Updated 12:05, 04 Jan 2026
Roy Keane was baffled with Gary Neville’s request(Image: The Overlap)
Gary Neville jokingly urged Roy Keane to apologise to Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica Stoll for telling her to miss out on the Ryder Cup. It was in September last year that the biennial competition descended into chaos after Team Europe endured constant abuse from US fans, specifically aimed towards McIlroy and Stoll.
Despite the unruly crowd behaviour, Team Europe captured a 15-13 victory at Bethpage Black on the final day of the tournament. The competition and the chaos that plagued it was subject to discussion on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast this past week, with McIlroy making his second appearance on the show.
But it was before the Northern Irishman joined Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, Ian Wright, Neville and Keane on set that Neville informed his former Manchester United team-mate in jest that he was to offer an apology to McIlroy and Stoll.
The Sky Sports pundit said: “You’re going to have to apologise to Rory and his wife by the way for insulting her on the programme” before a stunned Keane responded with: “How did I insult her? For getting a new outfit, how is that an insult?”
Neville’s request stems from Keane’s comments in a last year edition of the podcast where he stated if he was in McIlroy’s shoes at the Ryder Cup, he would have told his wife – who was reportedly hit by a cup of beer during the action – to stay in the hotel rather than being present at the golf course amid the fan abuse.
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Back in October, the Red Devils icon said: “So, you tell me. I’m no expert in golf – I don’t play but I watch the sport. You’re saying the pressure on these players because some people were shouting? Become a footballer and go to Leeds or Anfield on a Tuesday night, let me tell you.
“These guys play in big tournaments every week. All of a sudden, they’re going to be upset by a few Yanks? You’ve got McIlroy, McIlroy’s won all the big prizes. Do you think he’s going to be upset by a few people? It’s ridiculous!
Rory McIlroy discussed the abuse that he and his family endured at the Ryder Cup last year
“Of course they [knew abuse was coming]. They’ve built it up for the last six months, ‘Wait till you come to America.’ Of course, they knew they were going to get abused!.
“Let me tell you what you say to your partner. If I was a golfer and my partner was getting abuse, I’d tell them, ‘Just stay at the hotel, love. I’ll see you tonight when I get back. Because you don’t come to all the other tournaments. But, you’ve got a new outfit and you come to the Ryder Cup?”
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Upon McIlroy’s return to the show, he was shown a clip of Keane’s passionate monologue, admitting that his wife “loved this”. He discussed the hostile atmosphere that surrounded the tournament and revealed he had told his wife not to attend the tournament due to the worry that they’d be subject to abuse.
The 36-year-old explained: “We knew going to New York that we were going to get a lot of stick, a lot of abuse. I was saying, why don’t the girls just go into New York City for the week, have a good time, we’ll see you on Sunday night.
Erica Stoll was subject to abuse from fans at Bethpage Black(Image: (David Cannon/Getty Images))
“Because we knew that was what was going to happen. But in fairness to them, they were like, no, we want to be out there, we want to support you, which is really nice. I just didn’t want where if one of the partners heard something that they didn’t like, then that affected the mood in the team or in the team room.
“So I just didn’t want them to bring that into the team room at all. That’s a risk, right? You don’t want that. “And in fairness to all the wives and partners, they didn’t do that.” Following Team Europe’s triumph, PGA of America chief executive Derek Sprague sent a formal apology to the golfer for what they’d endured.