Roy Keane is currently under investigation by Gardai after a man was allegedly assaulted at the Republic of Ireland’s team hotel in Portmarnock 48 hours before they are scheduled to play Scotland in a Euro 2016 qualifier.
Keane, who is currently assistant to the Ireland manager, Martin O’Neill, is alleged to have been involved in a “heated exchange” with a man who had asked him to sign a copy of the former Manchester United captain’s book at the Links Hotel in Portmarnock after team training at around 4pm yesterday afternoon.
The man in question was reportedly later taken to hospital in an ambulance, with a spokesman for the Gardai confirming that an incident at the hotel is under investigation, despite no criminal complaint having been made.
Meanwhile The FAI have released a statement last night that revealed Keane himself had called the Gardai. The spokesman said: “Following inaccurate media reports which refer to an incident involving a member of the public this evening at the Republic of Ireland team hotel, we wish to clarify that Roy Keane called the Gardai following the incident,” it read. “The manager, Martin O’Neill and the FAI are fully aware of the circumstances surrounding this event and the assistant manager has their full support.”
It is understood that the Gardai are studying CCTV footage to discover how the events unfolded, although one source claims that the incident had quickly spiralled out of control. The source said: “One guy was reading Roy’s book and wanted him to sign it. I think Roy told him no and then there were words exchanged,” he said. “It all just kicked off from there. There was lots of roaring and shouting after. An ambulance was called and your man was taken away. The players were coming in and out of the bar before and then they were called into a private room. Everybody in the bar is talking about it. You don’t see something like that every day.”