Sky Sports will not beef up security for its pundits after Roy Keane‘s altercation with a fan on Sunday.
The former Manchester United captain offered to meet an Ipswich supporter who had been barracking him in the car park after his former side’s 1-1 draw at Portman Road.
Keane, a former Ipswich manager, confronted the supporter during an ad break in Sky’s coverage, before being guided away by fellow pundit Jamie Redknapp and a member of the broadcaster’s production team.
However, Mail Sport understands that Sky are happy with the protection offered to Keane and co and have no plans to change their existing set-up.
As this newspaper revealed last year, bodyguards have been brought in for certain matches after Keane was headbutted in a hospitality area at Arsenal. The Republic of Ireland international was confronted by a man at the top of the West Stand at the Emirates as he waited for a lift to take him pitch side.
Sky carry out a risk assessment on each fixture and, for those deemed high risk, security staff accompany pundits through public areas. When it comes to abuse from stands, there is little they can do and pundits are known to expect a torrid time at certain grounds.
Roy Keane bit back at an Ipswich fan who was abusing him at Portman Road on Sunday night
Sky Sports will not beef up security for its pundits after the Man United legend’s heated clash
Keane was performing punditry duties for Sky Sports on Sunday night during Ruben Amorim’s first match in charge of Manchester United – and was the target of abuse shortly after full time
This weekend, Sky are screening Liverpool’s clash with Manchester City. The expectation is that the match will be deemed of a sufficient level of risk to ensure that a high level of protection is afforded to their line-up. Keane and Gary Neville both played for United, Liverpool’s main rivals, while there is also no love lost for the pair among City’s support.
Keane was spoken to by Sky following the incident in Suffolk, with versions of events taken from the rest of their line-up which included Redknapp, Kelly Cates and Izzy Christiansen. The broadcaster declined to expand on those conversations although it is understood that they have sympathy for the position he found himself in. Indeed, the decision to put Keane pitch-side, at a club where he spent close to two mostly unhappy years before being sacked, may well have been viewed as unwise.
Witnesses say Keane was the target of ongoing abuse from a pocket of home fans which ‘consistently overstepped the mark’.
One fan, Neil Finbow, has posted on social media of his ‘new claim to fame’, boasting of being ‘offered out onto the car park by Roy Keane after a few choice words’.
When asked what triggered the confrontation Finbow proudly stated that he ribbed Keane about his failure at Ipswich along with other issues such as his infamous tackle on Alf-Inge Haaland.
‘Did remind him he set us [Ipswich] back five years and ruined our football club,’ Finbow posted. ‘Also mentioned he wasn’t fit to step [sic] foot anywhere near our ground.’
The Ipswich fan also said he referenced Keane’s departure from the Ireland camp in the 2002 World Cup.
‘I hate the bloke and that’s been boiling up since he got sacked all those years ago,’ he added, for good measure, although he later claimed to Mail Sport that he ‘never got personal’ and had only said: ‘You’re a better pundit than you were a manager.’
One of the supporters involved at Ipswich has since been identified as Neil Finbow (above)
An Arsenal fan was banned in June for headbutting Keane after a Man United match last year
The former Red Devils midfielder told the court he was left ‘in shock’ after the fan attack
It would appear that, in the digital age where vast swathes of the population crave being the forefront of attention, such incidents are on the rise.
Neville is a regular target for morons and has had drinks thrown over him outside the Etihad Stadium. Social media is often a cesspit of vile views, with much of it aimed at female pundits.
If the nation wants to ensure these people continue to entertain us, then there may need to be a conversation about a collective winding in of necks.
When asked if he could see himself continuing for a decade Keane said recently: ‘I’ll struggle for the next 10 months doing this. I love football, but the hassle of matches, getting to games, and the hassle of fans… I was in court a few months ago with somebody headbutting me.
‘Do you think I enjoy that side of it? Absolutely not. The games are fine [but] getting to the games, parking up, people shouting your name, good stuff, bad stuff, it’s a nuisance. Being a pundit in 10 years? No.’
After that incident, at the Emirates, Scott Law, 43, of Waltham Abbey Essex, was handed a three-year banning order and ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work for what a court heard was a ‘gratuitous and senseless act of violence’ following Arsenal’s 3-1 win over United.
Keane had been walking through the stadium with Micah Richards as the pair attempted to take up their positions for post-match analysis. Giving evidence in court, the 53-year-old said: ‘We missed the final two goals but that was the least of my worries.’
He added: ‘There was a bit of confusion, a lot of people, lots of noise, shouting, as you would expect, five to 10 minutes to go in the football match. Before I knew it, I’m hit. I just felt the contact and I’ve fallen back through some doors.
Keane holds a tense relationship with many Ipswich fans after his managerial spell at the club
The Manchester United legend joined Ipswich in 2009 and was later sacked in January 2011
‘The only way I can describe it is, without a doubt, in shock. I didn’t expect that to happen, not when I was in the workplace.’
Keane’s point is a valid one. For him, Neville and the rest, the football pitch or the studio is the workplace.
‘Do your job,’ Keane often says. He should not be abused for doing his.