Celtic hero Chris Sutton laughed as he recalled the penalty shootout banter from Joos Valgaeren after the big Belgian had two chances to make it past Valencia legend Santiago Canizares.
But he revealed his infamous request to the match referee to take his penalty for a third time - after missing the original pen and a retake in the 2001 UEFA Cup clash - was kept from Martin O'Neill for MONTHS.
The Irish gaffer didn't stand for nonsense and it's safe to say he'd have taken a dim view of the quip at such a delicate moment, moments before Ferrer Mista slotted the winner.
And during a debate on penalties the BBC Five Live Monday Night Club, Sutton said: "We lost away in Valencia. I think they’d won La Liga the previous season.
"They had a really good team and we should have beaten them at Celtic Park, we only beat them 1-0 so it went to penalties.
"Joos Valgaeren, the Belgian centre-half, took a penalty and the goalkeeper Canizares saved it.
"And he was allowed to take it again, Joos was, because Canizares had come off his line.
"And he missed it again, and on the way back to the halfway line he asked the referee if he could take it again.
"Martin O’Neill didn’t actually find out about this a few months later! Just imagine, but it was good banter from Joos, though."
The tale was part of a discussion on the order of penalty takers after Liverpool star Mo Salah was down to take Egypt's fifth and final spot-kick in the AFCON Final - only for his team-mates to mess up earlier to hand friend Sadio Mane the chance to win it.
Mane duly delivered for Sengal's first title but Sutton said: "It doesn’t matter, the order.
"Everybody has to take a penalty but I think you need your most composed player taking the fifth one because that’s when the real pressure is on."
