Accusations have been leveled at Roy Keane of having “sour grapes” over Jack Grealish’s decision to play for England after turning down senior call-ups with the Republic of Ireland.
Grealish’s decision to play for England over Ireland is claimed to have sparked resentment from former Ireland skipper Keane as the rival countries prepare to face off in their Nations League opener at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, with Grealish hoping to secure a spot in interim Three Lions manager Lee Carsley’s team.
The Manchester City winger had started his international career representing Ireland’s youth sides but rejected multiple chances to join up with the senior squad. After declaring for England, Grealish bided his time as he waited patiently for his first cap and became a star for Gareth Southgate’s side at Euro 2020. However, this invariably attracted the ire of Keane after England’s penalty shootout heartbreak against Italy.
Former Republic of Ireland captain Keane criticised Grealish and his England colleagues for allowing Bukayo Saka to take a crucial penalty in the final, as he told ITV: “If you’re Sterling or Grealish, you cannot sit there and have a young kid go up for a penalty ahead of you.
“You cannot let a shy 19-year-old go up in front of you. They have a lot more experience, Sterling has won trophies, they had to get in front of the young kid and stand up.”
Keane was Martin O’Neill’s assistant when Ireland were hoping to rope Grealish to represent them, while he had also worked with the winger during his brief spell as a coach at Aston Villa. Despite their previous relationship, it was suggested that Keane’s remarks about Grealish – who argued that he had offered to take a penalty – were driven by the forward’s decision to turn down the Boys in Green.
“As we all know, Roy Keane has got an opinion. But you can’t just accept that knowing it’s not the truth,” former England winger Trevor Sinclair told talkSPORT in 2021.
“Roy Keane’s not privileged, we are not privileged at talkSPORT to know what was going on in those meetings when we’re talking about penalties. I believe Jack. I don’t think he’s a shrinking violet. He’s a player who steps up to the plate.
“When you want to make a name for yourself, that’s when you step up. I think with Roy Keane, with the fact Jack Grealish left the Irish squad, went to the England squad, I think there’s a little bit of sour grapes there personally.”