Paddy Crerand has told Newstalk Breakfast that, he believes, Roy Keane “has turned sour because of what happened at Manchester United” and “maybe that’s one of the reasons” for Keane backing the red card decision in last night’s Champions League tie between Manchester United and Real Madrid.
Crerand, a former United player and current MUTV pundit and commentator, also told Newstalk Breakfast he thought Keane was trying to be controversial with the aim of getting noticed, a trait he feels is prevalent in Irish football analysis.
“I think sometimes when people are on television…they want to be noticed all of a sudden. ‘If 99% agree with a decision I’ll disagree just to get noticed’. That’s happened in Ireland for quite some time in actual fact, by different people that come on television and have opinions. If someone says white another person says black,” Crerand said.
Nani was shown a red card in the 56th minute of last night’s Champions League last sixteen second leg. The dismissal came following a high challenge from Nani on Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa and drew enraged protests from United players and Sir Alex Ferguson. Keane went against the general consensus on the ITV panel last night and backed the referee's call.
While attempting to control a dropping ball, Nani raised his foot to chest height and collided with the Real Madrid player. Replays suggested Nani was unaware of Arbeloa’s presence and there was no ill intent in the challenge, however the referee deemed it dangerous play and dismissed Nani.
The red card was a huge talking point in its own right, however the two Real Madrid goals that soon followed - as the Spanish champions grasped control of the game against United’s ten men – ensured the sending off grew massively in significance; to the point where it will be remembered as a pivotal moment in United’s season.
Following the game, three quarters of the ITV four man panel defended Nani. The general consensus was that the challenge was an accidental coming together, with Nani unaware of Arbeloa’s presence being a key mitigating factor. Roy Keane, however, refused to accept that reading of the situation and backed the referee’s decision to show the player a red card.
Keane's comments have, unsurprisingly, ignited a debate.
Video of Keane's comments last night
“It doesn’t matter if he knows there’s somebody there or not, it’s irrelevant,” Keane said.
Keane defended the referee and made the point that the decision was not an instantaneous call made in the heat of a charged moment.
“We can be critical of the referee, we’re always say referees are quick to make a decision [but] he waited a couple of minutes, no doubt spoke to assistant and said ‘listen we think it’s dangerous’. It’s a red card. ”
“You’re saying it’s like he wasn’t aware of the player – you have to be aware of other footballers on the pitch. Does he think he’s going to have 20 yards to himself?
“You can argue all day - It was dangerous play [and] whether he meant it or not doesn’t matter.
“Any time I was sent off in my career I always thought ‘did I give the referee a chance to send me off?’. If the answer is yeah then it’s out of your hands and I think the referee has made the right call.
“Everyone’s upset about it and they’re slightly unlucky but it’s dangerous play.”
Crerand disagreed with Keane's judgment, wholeheartedly.
“Let me tell you something – a foul’s got to be intentional. If you look at that situation last night, Nani didn’t see him coming. Nani wasn’t even looking at Arbeloa.”
Crerand also believes Keane’s status as a former Manchester United captain lend his words no additional weight, and Keane’s position as one of the minority backing the referee shows he has it wrong.
“That’s got nothing to do with it. If he played for Timbuktu, it doesn’t make a damn difference who he played for.”
“You read all the papers this morning, look at all the television and Roy Keane is the only who said the referee got it right. So everybody else is wrong and Roy is right?”
