DEAR OL' ROY-SUCH A KEEN CHAP!

November 2nd: Roy Keane was on the "come back in" trail in 2002, when his suspension, for carving in half Alf-Inge Haaland, with an "X" rated tackle was lifted. The FA had to act after Keane's autobiography was published including an offending passage that read; "I waited long enough! I f*****g hit him hard, the ball was there (I think)! Take you you c*** and don't ever stand over me, sneering about fake injuries!"

Roy Keane – Career Low Points from Roy Keane-Bad Boy:

1995 – Sent Off for Diving ! In August 1995 Roy Keane was sent off while playing for Manchester United for the second time in a Premiership match against Blackburn Rovers for two bookable offences. The second yellow card was shown for diving. An unlikely event. (Source: Keane: The Autobiography – Page 153)

1995 – Keane’s Third Red Card in One Year

In October Roy was sent off for the third time in 1995 in a match against Middlesboro apparently, though unconfirmed, for punching a Boro player. (Source: Keane: The Autobiography – Page 153)

1996 – Roy Keane Sent Off in First Appearance as Irish Captain!!!

In March 1996 the Republic of Ireland played Russia in a friendly match at Lansdowne Road (now re-developed and named Aviva Stadium). Earning his 30th cap Roy Keane had been handed the Republic captain’s armband after Andy Townsend was substituted. Keane was “…sent off for kicking a Russian.” (Source: Keane: The Autobiography – Page 247)

1996 – Roy Keane Sent Off against Southampton

On 26th October 1996 Roy Keane was sent off for the fifth time in his career and for the third time in twelve months against Southampton at the Dell. Having been booked earlier in the match for dissent Keane went on to earn second yellow card for a late lunge on Claus Lundekvam. (Source: Keane: The Autobiography – Page 165)

1997 – Row With Neighbour over Straying Dog......dog answered back?

Also in September Roy Keane was questioned by police after a neighbour made a complaint that Keane had threatened him over a straying dog. There was no follow up by the police. (Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk)

1997 – Roy Keane in Hotel Brawl

Manchester United had drawn 1-1 with Chelsea at Old Trafford on Wednesday 24th September 1997. The match had been tempestuous affair with fists “…flying in the tunnel.” and Keane had been booked. Following the match Roy went drinking with friends from Cork in the nearby Chester Court Hotel. At half past three in the morning Keane became involved in a slanging match with United supporters from Dublin. Following some more drink the “…belligerence between Cork and Dublin became more personal and heated. Blows were exchanged. I gave as good as I got.” (Source: Keane: The Autobiography – Page 171)

1997 – Roy Ruptures Cruciate Ligament

Having been involved in the hotel altercation in the early hours of Thursday Roy Keane took to the field two days later against Leeds United in very poor shape both physically and psychologically. It was late September 1997. In Roy Keane’s autobiography he claims that Haaland had spent most the match winding him up. Late on in the match, in an attempted foul on Alf-Inge Haaland, Keane ruptured his cruciate ligament!!

The cardinal sin from Roy Keane’s point of view was that, as Keane lay on the ground in agony, Haaland bent over him and accused him of faking injury. Perhaps this was not unreasonable as Keane had just fouled Haaland and there was no way that the Norwegian could have been aware of the extent of Keane’s injury. (Source: Keane: The Autobiography – Page 172) 1999 – Keane Sent Off for the Sixth Time. In April 1999 during the FA Cup semi-final replay against Arsenal, Roy Keane had already earned a yellow card when he made a “desperate tackle on Marc Overmars.” Keane claimed that the tackle was more out of “desperation rather than badness” however referee (David Elleray (in his spare time a Geography teacher at Harrow School) had no hesitation in sending him off. (Source: Keane: The Autobiography – Page 184)

1999 – Keane Arrested after Brawl in Manchester Bar

Manchester United had secured the first element of the historic treble on 16th May 1999. That night Keane had partied with the rest of his team mates plus their wives and girlfriends. Another night of celebration had been arranged for the next night (Monday) just for the team in Mulligan’s Bar at 5pm.

This wasn’t early enough for Keane so he arranged to meet former United player Norman Whiteside in The Griffin, a bar in Bowden, at twelve. After an afternoon of drinking, on top of the previous night (“I’ve eaten nothing. I haven’t had much sleep”) Keane met the rest of the team in Mulligan’s. After a few more drinks The players went to another bar called Henry’s. In this bar an exchange took place between Keane, and two women and a man. As things became more heated “…a glass flies through the air, hitting me in the face…I lunge at the guy. Then all hell breaks loose. What follows is a blur.” It is hardly surprising that it was a blur to Keane in view of the amount of drink he had consumed. Keane was arrested by the Greater Manchester police and was held in police custody overnight.

He was released on bail when Alex Ferguson called to the police station the next morning. Ultimately no charges were made and Keane heard no more about the matter.

BUTTER WOULDN'T MELT......
Keane also jointly holds the record for the most red cards received in English football, being dismissed a total of 13 times in his career.

But he has now settled down and is a pillar of the establishment, bless!

The Premier League’s era of extreme justice began on August 19 1992. That warm evening saw Southampton’s Micky Adams and Manchester City’s Niall Quinn sent off by referees Ray Bigger and Stephen Lodge respectively. They were the opening pair of more than 1,700 red cards shown in a Premier League game thus far, 114 of them by the irrepressible Mike Dean. 

But while referees collect dismissals with pride and a sense of duty, for the players it can be a mark of shame, particularly if the subsequent suspension rules them out of one or more key matches. Then again, many of them will argue that the decisions they made in the heat of battle were the right ones!!

The fourth Premier League player to have collected seven red cards is Roy Keane. Two of Keane’s seven reds came against Newcastle United, his seemingly eternal rivalry with Alan Shearer spilling over into raw violence. Keane’s sending off at St James’ Park in September 2001 is one of the most iconic in the league’s history, with the two men fully committed to each other’s demise. “If you’re going to get sent off, the worst thing is, I pushed him. If you’re going to get sent off you might as well punch him properly because you’re going to get the same punishment,” Keane mused decades later. 

That red came only five months after Keane’s infamous revenge attack on Alfie Inge Haaland at Old Trafford in the Manchester derby. Somewhere in the north of England, Haaland’s nine-month-old son Erling shifted angrily in his cot and, in 2022-23, at last had the chance to face Manchester United and turned the tables once more, scoring a hat-trick in a 6-3 win in October.