KEANE TO APPEAL THREE MATCH BAN
Tottenham captain Robbie Keane described his sending off against Birmingham City, and consequent three match suspension – a ban that will see him miss the north London derby at the Emirates three days before Christmas – as “a killer blow”.
Alongside Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor and Benjani Mwaruwari of Portsmouth, the Republic of Ireland marksman is joint top scorer in the Premier League with eight goals.
But he will be in the stands for the visit of Manchester City and the trips to Fratton Park and the Emirates Stadium after his tackle on Fabrice Muamba was deemed a professional foul by referee Phil Dowd.
The 27-year-old, whose brace in the first seven minutes of the second half had dragged Spurs back into the game at White Hart Lane, was shown a straight red card in the 68th minute with the match finely balanced at 2-2.
Former Arsenal trainee Sebastian Larsson rubbed salt into Tottenham’s wounds by scoring a 92nd minute winner with a screaming 35 yard drive. However Keane felt Dowd had made a terrible decision and hopes the ban will be revoked.
“It is a killer blow for me,” he said. “Whether it is Arsenal or anyone else, to miss three games is disappointing. To have 20 minutes taken away was hard enough.
“Anyone who knows me, and has seen me play over the years, knows that I’m not a malicious player – I never go in to hurt anyone. The two of us went in for the ball; the two of us got some of the ball – it’s a simple as that.
“It certainly wasn’t a red card. Hopefully the referee and whoever is behind making the decision will have another look at it and common sense will prevail.”
Tottenham captain Robbie Keane described his sending off against Birmingham City, and consequent three match suspension – a ban that will see him miss the north London derby at the Emirates three days before Christmas – as “a killer blow”.
Alongside Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor and Benjani Mwaruwari of Portsmouth, the Republic of Ireland marksman is joint top scorer in the Premier League with eight goals.
But he will be in the stands for the visit of Manchester City and the trips to Fratton Park and the Emirates Stadium after his tackle on Fabrice Muamba was deemed a professional foul by referee Phil Dowd.
The 27-year-old, whose brace in the first seven minutes of the second half had dragged Spurs back into the game at White Hart Lane, was shown a straight red card in the 68th minute with the match finely balanced at 2-2.
Former Arsenal trainee Sebastian Larsson rubbed salt into Tottenham’s wounds by scoring a 92nd minute winner with a screaming 35 yard drive. However Keane felt Dowd had made a terrible decision and hopes the ban will be revoked.
“It is a killer blow for me,” he said. “Whether it is Arsenal or anyone else, to miss three games is disappointing. To have 20 minutes taken away was hard enough.
“Anyone who knows me, and has seen me play over the years, knows that I’m not a malicious player – I never go in to hurt anyone. The two of us went in for the ball; the two of us got some of the ball – it’s a simple as that.
“It certainly wasn’t a red card. Hopefully the referee and whoever is behind making the decision will have another look at it and common sense will prevail.”
Labels: Birmingham, Premier League, Robbie Keane, Tottenham
