Roy Carroll has definitely caused a stir
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Roy Carroll was having no part in the pre-match handshakes between his Linfield side and the Cliftonville players.
Both teams faced off at Solitude on Saturday afternoon and the Irish League derby ended in a 1-1 draw.
The result was not the main talking point, however, was Carroll opted to walk past the entire Cliftonville team and bypass the handshakes.
The rest of his teammates shook hands, but Carroll strode by. This caused some consternation within the Cliftonville squad and elicited a noisy reaction from the crowd.
Why’d Roy Carroll not shake @cliftonvillefc players hands today? pic.twitter.com/qmb1aRcA1I
— Chris white (@mrcwhite86) August 25, 2018
Joe Gormley opened the scoring for Cliftonville but Michael O’Connor grabbed an equaliser with just five minutes to play.
It has been speculated that Carroll did so in response to Cliftonville’s decision to bow their heads during a rendition of God Save The Queen prior to the Irish Cup Final in May.
The decision of Carroll to ignore the pre-match tradition stoked a strong response. We have opted not to show some of the worst of them but this is just a taste:
FOR
Well done Roy Carroll, I'd have done the same.
— David Purvis (@dp_ni) August 25, 2018
Super, Super Roy, Super Roy Carroll
— Glenn P (@glenn10k) August 25, 2018
If Cliftonville can make high profile political statements at a cup final then you can’t really take the moral high ground when someone disagrees with what you done.
— Is That Right Mate? (@DryYerEyes86) August 25, 2018
Well done Roy. # @bluesbrothers86 #GAWA
— Blue Devil (@Trashvilleblue) August 25, 2018
AGAINST
This is utterly pathetic by Roy Carroll https://t.co/8m6uEqn6uU
— Ally Lamont (@AllyLamont1984) August 25, 2018
Disappointing isnt even the word. Plenty of heart but obvious lack of quality….
Long story short – 2 points dropped badly & Roy Carroll is a TRAMP 🖕
— Mitch1916🇮🇪 (@THEMITCH8) August 25, 2018
Childish immature and disrespectful…roy carroll should be heavily fined by IFA
— WayneLonely (@waynelonely41) August 25, 2018
It will be interesting to hear the Northern Ireland international’s reasoning for the stance.
