Micah Richards hits back at claims he ‘disrespected’ Roy Keane by laughing at his rant on Man Utd

Micah Richards dismissed claims he disrespected Roy Keane during the Manchester derby on Sunday, while Gary Neville laughed off his studio altercation with the former.

Richards burst into laughter as Keane was delivering a scathing assessment of Manchester United, following their dismal performance in a 4-1 defeat at the Etihad.

The Irishman described United’s display as ‘men against boys’ and suggested at least five players on the pitch on Sunday should never play for his former club again.

During the segment, the former Manchester City defender can be seen trying to suppress a smirk as Keane dissects United’s shortcomings, before eventually bursting into laughter.

The reaction was picked up on by many viewers on Twitter, with some feeling the former England international crossed a line. 

‘Watching Sky. Whatever you think of Keane’s punditry, thought it was a touch disrespectful for Richards to be in hysterics as Keane makes an impassioned point,’ tweeted Miguel Delaney, The Independent’s chief football writer.

The former Manchester City defender insisted he meant no disrespect to his fellow pundit

And fellow Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville jokingly accepted the apology

Keane has stated that United’s players ‘need to leave their egos at the door’ after the defeat

Richards, however, brushed off the criticism, suggesting the mutual respect between he and his colleagues at Sky remained strong.

‘Deary deary me! When [Graeme] Souness says to me: “Forget everything you’ve just said” or [Gary] Neville says to me: “Stop ranting, you’re not making sense” I don’t see you saying it’s disrespectful to me so stop this nonsense,’ he tweeted.

‘It’s really not that deep. We all have respect for each other.’ 

To which Neville replied: ‘Thanks Richards’, accompanied by a laughing emoji.

United were in the game in the first half but were completely outclassed after the break

Neville put his head in his hands (left) in response to Richards raising his voice in a blazing row

The pair were embroiled in a blazing argument over Ralf Rangnick’s role at United after their derby defeat against City.

Neville himself questioned the tactics of United’s interim boss, while Richards insisted he should not have been appointed manager, raising his voice and gesticulating wildly. 

That prompted Neville to put his head in his hands and he told his fellow pundit to ‘stop ranting’ as tempers boiled over in a heated row.