The rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool is one of the fiercest in football history.
Rarely does a match between the two go by without incident. And their Premier League meeting at Old Trafford in February 2012 was absolutely littered with them.
The story had actually begun four months prior, when Luis Suarez was judged to have racially abused Patrice Evra by the FA, who handed him an eight-game ban. His first game back? United away.
READ MORE: Ex-Premier League star joins Dutch giants as fans rage over ‘Manchester United’s loss’
READ MORE: Meet Federico Chiesa’s scorching hot model WAG who was called the ‘prettiest girl alive’
Suarez took on the pantomime villain role and turned it up to 100 – refusing to shake hands with Evra, booting the ball into the crowd near the United dugout before half-time and giving some back after scoring late on.
But it was Evra who got the last laugh thanks to Wayne Rooney’s brace, which secured a 2-1 win for United. Come the final whistle, the Frenchman made a beeline for the Uruguayan, celebrating in front of him.
All of that was well documented at the time, but what followed in the tunnel wasn’t. The tensions spilled over, as recalled by former Liverpool winger Steward Downing on the Under The Cosh podcast.
(Image: Getty Images)
Learn more
In 24/25, the club’s timeless home jerseys shout even louder with bright red inserts on the sides and a subtle gradient design on the front and back. Made for supporters, this adidas football shirt includes moisture-managing AEROREADY and an embroidered badge.
From £80
Man United
Get your hands on the Manchester City Home Shirt 2024-25 from PUMA. The shirt pays homage to the City of Manchester and the Greater Manchester area with its 0161-telephone code in graffiti form on the collar and cuffs.
From £80
KitBag
Recalling what kicked it all off, Downing said: “Stuff was going back and forward, and then just before half-time, the ball lands to him [Suarez] and he just blasts the ball at the dugout. On the whistle, blasts it straight at the Man United bench. And he was sort of taking the full ground on.”
Moving onto the post-match chaos, he continued: “We go in the tunnel and it kicks off. I dunno if it was sort of, like, I say planned… [Nemanja] Vidic wasn’t in the squad but he was in the tunnel. It was just kicking off.
“You see [Wayne] Rooney running down and I remember thinking ‘I’m definitely at the back here’. But Rooney was in the back going, ‘what’s going on?’ and I thought ‘keep him out of it because he might throw one’.
(Image: Getty Images)
“I think he was trying to break it up but Rio [Ferdinand] and Vidic have made a scene of it and big Pepe [Reina] got involved. I’m sure Rio clocked Dirk Kuyt on the sly, on the cheek.
“It was one of them where he [Kuyt] wasn’t looking and he’s [Ferdinand] clocked him, and he was like ‘I’m gonna kill him’. Dirk lost his head, ‘I’m gonna kill him’.”
Downing has also explained how Ferdinand has denied ever hitting Kuyt, who left Liverpool at the end of the season and never had to face him again. Manager Kenny Dalglish also departed after they only managed an eighth-place finish.
The controversy surrounding Suarez didn’t cast him in a good light, with Dalglish later admitting he had mismanaged the situation. United, meanwhile, lost the title to their local rivals Manchester City due to Sergio Aguero’s unforgettable 93rd-minute goal.
Evra and Suarez met again when Barcelona played Juventus in the 2015 Champions League final, marking a handshake that had been in the waiting for three years.