Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has claimed he was embarrassed by the tumble Manchester City captain Kyle Walker took in the first half of Sunday's Manchester Derby.
Manchester United won the game 2-1, thanks to a moment of brilliance from Amad Diallo, but one of the key talking points was Walker's incident, which has been widely condemned.
In the first half, Rasmus Højlund and Walker were involved in a tussle, with the United striker taking a tumble. Højlund then approached Walker and squared up to the fullback, making slight head contact. While there was minimal force, Walker went down as if he had been headbutted.
Walker has faced significant criticism online and from fans for his theatrics, with Keane, working as a pundit, also slamming the Englishman.
"I don't know the guy and I'm embarrassed for him!"
Roy Keane is not holding back on Kyle Walker here... 😤 pic.twitter.com/6N73pTiSTA
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 15, 2024
When asked if Walker should have received a red card for the fall, Keane responded on Sky Sports and claimed he was embarrassed: "Red card? Yeah, to Walker. This is... no, you don't mind a bit of this. This is going to happen in the game. A bit of argy-bargy, of course. But I look at it. He's obviously been blocked. But Walker... we're talking about what?
"So there's the initial foul. Of course, there's a foul. There's a free kick, and that's fine. The fella’s not happy, and that's fine. But he goes over? How can Walker...? Walker must be embarrassed. He must be embarrassed to go down like that as an experienced player."
Keane continued: "Listen, they say there's contact. Look at this. I don't know the guy, and I'm embarrassed for him."
Micah Richards, a former City player, agreed with Keane's assessment, stating Walker was better than such actions.
"He's better than that," Richards said.
Keane, however, expressed some doubt, replying, "Is he better than that? Not so sure. That’s quite embarrassing, yeah."
The result leaves City with just one win in their last 11 matches, creating a huge mountain to climb if they are to re-enter the Premier League title race.
City's next game is against Aston Villa on Saturday, while United will face Bournemouth on Sunday.
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