Kasper Schmeichel's decision to join in with Manchester City's Irish contingent of players who were slagging Micah Richards resulted in the Danish 'keeper getting a dart to the leg.
As Schmeichel's Leicester City take on Chelsea in the FA Cup Final on Saturday evening, Richards, a former Manchester City teammate of Schmeichel's has been recalling their time together.
Back in 2003, when a 15-year-old Richards and a 17-year-old Schmeichel were youth players at City, the Dane's decision to join in with some of the club's Irish contingent who were slagging Richards didn't end well.
"I used to get called ‘Mucker’ by some of the Irish boys back then but it wasn’t very complimentary," he recalled. "It basically meant I was s***.
"I’d try to laugh it off, but this particular day Kasper had joined in the wind-up."
Micah Richards and Kasper Schmeichel among those celebrating as Manchester City winning the 2005 Manchester Senior CupUnhappy with being the butt of a joke, Richards responded in a manner that he initially feared might cost him his career at City.
"We had a communal area where we’d play darts to relax," he wrote in his Daily Mail column. "I’d been called ‘Mucker’ one too many times by Kasper, who was standing not far from the board.
"Stupidly, I threw a dart in his general direction, with no intention of hitting him but hoping to give him a fright. To my horror, I got the angle wrong and it landed in his leg."
To the great relief of Micah Richards, however, Schmeichel acted as if there wasn't now a dart in his body.
"Kasper would have had every right to tell the coaching staff what I’d done," admitted Richards. "I was mortified, worried I might have done some damage to Kasper and in fear of the possible consequences — would they sack me?
"What happened next showed me I’d got him all wrong. He removed the dart with a wince and the matter ended, there and then."
Leicester City take on Chelsea in the FA Cup Final at 5.15pm on Saturday evening.
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