Rory McIlroy and Roy Keane were reunited this week, with the Masters champion a return guest on Stick to Football.

McIlroy brilliantly called out Keane for a childhood autograph snub on his previous appearance, and the two jokingly hugged it out as McIlroy arrived on set on this occasion.

2025 was a momentous year for McIlroy, who claimed victory not only at Augusta, but at the Players Championship and at his home event in September’s Irish Open.

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Another superb achievement came in September’s Ryder Cup, in which Team Europe were victorious on away soil for the first time in 13 years.

However, the event was notorious for other reasons, with McIlroy and his compatriot Shane Lowry particular targets of disgraceful abuse from the American fans at Bethpage Black.

Both men would swear at fans in the stands as they received heckles and worse, while McIlroy’s wife Erica was struck by a beer thrown from the crowd in an especially shocking incident.

The European team’s resilience in the face of such hostility was admired by many at the time, but Roy Keane was not one who had much sympathy.

In a now-infamous clip released shortly thereafter on The Overlap, Keane said he had little sympathy for McIlroy and co. Furthermore, he suggested that the players’ partners should have stayed in the team hotel if such abuse was expected.

On this week’s Stick to Football, the clip was played back for Rory McIlroy and Roy Keane, with McIlroy’s explanation of the situation leading Keane to soften his stance.

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Rory McIlroy and Roy Keane discuss infamous Ryder Cup clip

Roy Keane was visibly embarrassed on Stick to Football, as his tirade about the abuse received by the European Ryder Cup team was played in front of Rory McIlroy.

In a brilliant quip, Keane turned to McIlroy as the clip progressed to the point where he called out the partners of the team.

Keane: “Your wife’s not here, is she?”

McIlroy: “No, she’s seen this though. She loved this.”

McIlroy would go on to reveal he had in fact made a similar suggestion to the wives and girlfriends of Team Europe, for fear of them receiving such abuse, and that they were adamant they would be in attendance to show their support.

Look, I’ve said before – we knew, going to New York, 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 a week, have a good time, we’ll see you on Sunday night.’ We knew that 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.

My thing was I just didn’t want…if one of the partners heard something that they didn’t like that 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?

In fairness, to all the wives and partners – they didn’t do that. I’m sure they heard some stuff that wasn’t very nice.

Team Europe knew in advance that the traditionally hostile atmosphere at an away Ryder Cup would only be heightened by the event taking place in New York.

However, when Keane asked if the scale of the abuse received had taken the team by surprise, McIlroy explained that it had crossed the line when his daughter, Poppy, was brought into things by the American fans.

Look, I don’t care if people are saying whatever they’re saying to me.

Even the first tee announcers shouting, ‘Fuck you, Rory,’ and all that stuff, which is nothing compared to the stuff we heard.

Even Erica, my wife, would say…she’s a grown woman, she’s strong, she can handle that.

But then, when it starts to get into your…I heard stuff about my daughter that I couldn’t even repeat here. It’s horrific.

I think it’s also society at the minute as well, but it’s that mob mentality as well, where people see other people doing something and then think it’s okay. It sort of builds and builds.

The abuse received by the European players was vile, but to bring their families into things left golf fans across the globe disgusted.

Roy Keane would eventually admit that he was among those who found the abuse “disgusting,” and clarified that he had found it admirable how Team Europe stuck together throughout the hostility.

My point is – that stuff is absolutely disgusting, of course it is. I think it’s a disgrace.

Footballers have had it, Jill you’ve had it, everyone has. No-one’s giving…the beauty of it is you reacted to it well, it’s brought you together as a team, the scores and the way you played.

I was trying to make the point where…you’re getting stick, and if it’s too much for families – like footballers get – you should back away.

But what it’s done for ye, the other way, is brought you all together. You proved it by that abuse, by, ‘We’ll show you how good we are, we’ll deal with that nonsense and produce.’

Though the 2025 Ryder Cup ranks among the greatest achievements of Rory McIlroy’s golfing career, the experience at Bethpage Black is perhaps one that he and the European families would choose to relive.

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