Roy Keane confronts a fan in the crowd at Portman Road after receiving abuse
Roy Keane has opened up about the altercation he had with an Ipswich fan last month
Roy Keane has made it clear that he had no intention of engaging in a physical altercation with an Ipswich Town fan who hurled abuse at him at Portman Road.
The former Manchester United captain, who took charge of Ipswich from 2009 to 2011, hit the headlines after the incident which occurred following a 1-1 draw in Ruben Amorim's inaugural Premier League game in November. The bust-up grabbed attention as Keane abruptly exited the Sky Sports set on the pitch where he was providing punditry alongside Kelly Cates, Izzy Christensen, and Jamie Redknapp.
Keane, who was receiving instructions from his producers ahead of returning from a commercial break, left the broadcast area, laying down his microphone, and approached the stand where a set of supporters were heckling him. During the heated exchange that ensued, Keane is reported to have said: "Wait in the car park, we can have a discussion. I'll wait for you in the car park."
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The Irishman then repeated the instruction before Sky production staff intervened, guiding him back to the field while a seemingly shocked Redknapp looked on. This was amidst further abuses being thrown at Keane, with one fan making their way through the upper tier to audaciously yell, "f*** you Keane".
The saga was a talking point on a recent episode of The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet, where Ian Wright admitted the incident got under his skin. "I was quite angry about that, Roy," the Arsenal icon said.
Keane then clarified that he never intended to take the altercation further. "Don't laugh. I wasn't angry," he said. "I wasn't angry at the Ipswich Town game. I was calm, I went over to the guy twice. What happens when we're doing matches is and the analysis is happening at the end of the match when fans can be up or down, whatever emotions they are feeling and people think they can abuse you, and it seems to be a, 'we're supposed to accept that'.
Keane went into detail about the incident on The Overlap
"I went over to him twice I said, 'no problem, if you want to abuse me or if you want a discussion with me, well I'm working'. I went over to him twice at different stages and he was swearing in front of kids.
"I said, 'if you want to see me afterwards' and people thought I was asking him for a [fight] I said, 'I'll see you in the car park'. I’ll ask a question, where else was I going to see him? Where else could I see him? The lounge? Everyone is asked to leave the ground. I’ll meet you in McDonald’s. I’ll meet you in the car park."
Wright then pointed out that asking to meet someone in the car park is offering someone out for a fight, to which Keane replied: "I’m not offering him out. I’m 53 years of age with five kids and two grandkids… he wasn’t there.
"I was calm. Honestly, that’s not me getting angry."
Roy Keane says he wasn't planning to prolong the altercation (Image: X : adenLFC4life)
It comes after an Arsenal supporter was found guilty of assaulting Keane following a game between the Gunners and United at the Emirates Stadium in September last year. A court heard that Keane was headbutted as he and fellow pundit Micah Richards were making their way to broadcast their full-time match analysis.
The culprit, Scott Law, of Waltham Abbey, Essex, was later found guilty of assault and handed a three-year banning order. Referencing the incident on The Overlap, Keane said: "Bizarrely I had that last year at Arsenal. Thank god the judge could see through the nonsense and realised I was assaulted. I wasn’t angry [at the Ipswich fan]… you don’t believe me do you."
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