Roy Keane was bound to face legal action from Alf Inge Haaland as soon as his "ill-advised" book was released.
That is the view of Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor after Haaland and Manchester City confirmed last night they intended to sue Keane over his horror tackle in April last year.
Manchester United have also been dragged into the dispute by being named in the potential law suit, which could drag on for 12 months.
Although 29-year-old Haaland completed the game following Keane's instant dismissal by referee David Elleray, he has not finished a match since and is now facing the prospect of an early end to his career after failing to recover from a knee injury in the other leg.
In the serialisation of his soon-to-be-released autobiography, Keane admitted he had set out to deliberately injure Haaland, as revenge for the Norwegian accusing him of feigning injury during a previous confrontation between the players in 1997.
Taylor immediately questioned the wisdom of the former Irish skipper going into print with such a statement and his worst fears were realised less than 24 hours before the start of a new Premier League campaign.
"It is obviously not good news but it is exactly what I thought would happen," said Taylor. "I cannot believe he was advised to make such comments and by doing so, he immediately left himself vulnerable to an FA charge and this potential litigation.
"It is a very unfortunate situation because it has pitched player against player and club against club. With Manchester City being promoted as well, it is not particularly going to help a healthy rivalry in the city."