Jamie Carragher reignited his rivalry with Richard Keys by asking Gary Neville to greet his "big mate" in the beIN Sports studio.
Former Manchester United defender Neville is working for the Qatari broadcaster during the World Cup and has been widely criticised for taking up the role. The Middle Eastern country's human rights record and stance on LGBT rights has been the subject of intense scrutiny in the lead-up to the tournament, so the pundit has had to defend himself.
Neville's role means he has swapped sharing the Sky Sports studio with Carragher to work alongside Keys until the Premier League season resumes in late December. Keys left the British broadcaster in 2011 after making derogatory remarks about match official Sian Massey, while further sexist comments were also leaked.
Last month, the 65-year-old hit out at Carragher and co-pundit Micah Richards over their behaviour in the CBS Sports studio. The duo were covering Champions League fixtures when he asked presenter Kate Abdo who the most famous footballer she has interviewed is.
Abdo asked, "Impressive in what sense?," and Carragher quickly responded, "You tell me," before bursting into laughter. Abdo then listed Lionel Messi, Pele and Diego Maradona in response to the original question, before Richards suggested regular CBS Sports pundit Thierry Henry.
"Thierry is like a friend though," Abdo replied before Richards asked, "What sort of friend?," to prompt more laughter from himself and Carragher, who said, "I've seen you in the canteen at lunchtime!"
Keys was critical of the interaction, clearly viewing it as unprofessional and implying it could have made Abdo uncomfortable. He took to Twitter to write: "Having found myself in a lot of bother - largely of my own making - I was really surprised to find that this sort of behaviour is apparently OK in a TV studio these days."
What did you make of Jamie Carragher's comments? Have your say in the comments.
Carragher has not forgotten that Keys is far from his biggest fan and sarcastically referred to him as his "big mate" while posting a picture of Neville in the studio with him. He added the caption, "Say hello to my big mate Keysie @GNev2," and added a kissing emoji.
Keys has not responded to the tweet but, earlier on Sunday, accused many of the critics of the Qatar World Cup of "scandalous" hypocrisy. "So here we go. After a 12-year wait much heartache & often scandalous hypocritical criticism the @FIFAWorldCup starts today. We have the most diverse set of pundits working @beINSPORTS today on @beINSPORTS_EN @JohnTerry26 & @GNev2 It should be fun."
Posting a picture of Al Bayt Stadium ahead of Qatar's opening game against Ecuador, he added: "So far so good. I’m sure somebody will find something to complain about but I’ve been greeted with warmth & whisked into the stadium ahead of schedule. All systems go…"
