page_title: Battle of the Buffet
section_title: Aftermath and legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of the Buffet / Aftermath and legacy
caption_attribution_description: Roy Keane
context_page_description: The "Battle of the Buffet", also known as "Pizzagate", is a name used by the British press to refer to a Premier League match played between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford, Manchester, on 24 October 2004. Arsenal dictated much of the early play and created several openings, but as the game progressed Manchester United threatened. The home team were awarded a penalty in the 73rd minute, as Wayne Rooney allegedly tumbled over Sol Campbell's outstretched leg. Van Nistelrooy converted the penalty kick and late in the game Rooney scored for 2–0. The result ended Arsenal's record-breaking 49-match unbeaten run. Many Arsenal fans were disgruntled, as they believed Rooney had dived and the penalty should not have been given.
  In the tunnel after the match tempers boiled over between staff of both clubs, and amid the brawl a slice of pizza was thrown at Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, allegedly by Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger was furious in his post-match briefing, criticising Riley for his performance and describing Van Nistelrooy as a cheat.
context_section_description: Arsenal struggled to regain the same level of consistency shown earlier in the season; in the space of a month they fell five points behind leaders Chelsea, who went on to win the league. Manchester United remained inconsistent; they lost to Portsmouth in their next game and ended the season in third place behind Arsenal, despite looking likely to finish runners-up.
  In the League Cup, the clubs met in the quarter-final stage at Old Trafford in December and even though both sides fielded weakened teams, the match was not short of drama. David Bellion gave Manchester United the lead in just 19 seconds but it was not until the start of the second half that tempers began to flare. A fracas between Robin van Persie and Kieran Richardson, following a late tackle on Richardson by Van Persie, resulted in clashes from both sets of players, which concluded with both protagonists getting booked by match official Mark Halsey. The game finished 1–0.
  In January 2005, both managers were embroiled in a new row over the events of "Pizzagate". Ferguson said Wenger never apologised to his players for calling them cheats, or for his team's behaviour, adding: "It's a disgrace, but I don't expect Wenger to ever apologise, he's that type of person." Wenger responded by claiming Ferguson was guilty of "bringing the game into disrepute" and telling reporters he would "never answer any questions any more about this man." Under pressure from the police, the Sports Minister Richard Caborn and Premier League chairman Richard Scudamore, both managers later agreed to tone down their words.
  Manchester United captain Roy Keane infamously confronted Vieira in the players tunnel before the return fixture later in the season, which United won 4–2 at Highbury. This came about by an incident during the pre-game warm up when Vieira had allegedly pushed Gary Neville after confronting the player about the challenges Pires suffered at Old Trafford earlier in the season. Once Keane found out back in the United dressing room, he unleashed a verbal tirade on Vieira including telling the Arsenal skipper "I'll see you out there". The match that followed was another ill-spirited affair with both sides guilty of harsh challenges, which also saw Mikaël Silvestre sent off after a clash with Ljungberg. United went on to win the game, coming from behind twice before holding onto the lead, despite being reduced to 10 men for the last third of the match.
  The teams then faced each other once more in the FA Cup Final at the end of the season. The match was largely uneventful as it finished 0–0 after normal and extra time thus taking it to a penalty shoot-out, the first in Cup Final history. Scholes missed his penalty for Manchester United, and Vieira converted the decisive kick to win the cup for Arsenal. Reyes became the second player to be sent off in the Cup Final, after his second yellow card in the 120th minute.
  The "Battle of the Buffet" is regarded as a historic moment in the rivalry between Manchester United and Arsenal. Ferguson in his autobiography reflected it as the point where his relationship with Wenger started to break down, and it was not until United's Champions League semi-final victory over Arsenal in 2009 that they were on talking terms. He added: "It seemed to me that losing the game scrambled Arsène's brain." When asked to recollect his version of events of "Pizzagate", Wenger admitted his team's conduct was aggressive and said: "I think on that day, [Riley] had not his best day and that brought a lot of frustration on." 
  The emergence of Chelsea and transitions undergone by the two clubs during the mid-2000s meant the rivalry became insignificant.
caption: Roy Keane was involved in a fracas in the Highbury tunnel with Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira.
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