Roy Keane takes cut off England and Wales for ‘One Love’ armband U-turn

"What a message that would have sent."

Roy Keane had to wait until Day Two of the 2022 World Cup, in Qatar, but he hit the ground running with a strong take on an armband fiasco. The former Manchester United and Ireland captain was at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, in Al Rayyan, for ITV's coverage of Wales' opening World Cup game against the USA. Ahead of the game, Keane was asked, by host Mark Pougatch, about the decision by Wales and England not to have their captains, Gareth Bale and Harry Kane, wear 'One Love' armbands. Ahead of both countries' openers, it was revealed that England and Wales had backed down and decided not to wear OneLove armbands after a threat from FIFA that their captains would face an instant yellow card for doing so. The pair had planned to wear the armbands to show as a sign of their commitment to gay rights and in support of human rights, along with a number of other nations. Keane, who reserved his first "shocking" comment of the tournament for the Iran team that were beaten 6-2 by England, was far from impressed with the armband U-turn.

Roy Keane on armband U-turn

After a preamble on how big a World Cup is for the supporters of all nations that qualify, Mark Pougatch asked Roy Keane about the 'One Love' armbands and both England and Wales backing down from the FIFA threat of bookings. He responded: "I think they could have worn the armbands for the first game, and taken it from there... take your punishment. What a message that would have sent." "They should have stuck to their guns and done it... take your medicine." Wales manager Rob Page told ITV that the team 'are not happy' with not wearing the armbands but could not run the risk of getting captain Gareth Bale booked for wearing it. Ahead of the England win over Iran, BBC pundit Alex Scott wore a 'One Love' armband during the live broadcast of that game.

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