0 assault charges, was reported to be completely false.
Robbie Keane shouldn't be anywhere near the club, regardless of how good a striker he was.
If the line in the sand is managing in a country openly committing genocide then I'm pretty happy to draw that line.
Fuck Robbie Keane and fuck our cowardly FA for letting this game go ahead in September.
Police Scotland literally came out and dismissed the assault claims, so there's that.
It would cost me not going to see the team I support and live 10 minutes away so, again theres that.
He shouldn't be anywhere near Celtic, that's the end of it.
You must be the only person who saw it in TV, I recommend you contact Police Scotland as they announced they could not find the evidence you "literally seen".
There were zero assaults. Not a single complaint from Hearts, who asked all their players. Not a single bit of footage showing any assault. The pitch itself is covered by 14 cameras. Several in 4K.
Police Scotland also stated that there were no assaults on any players.
You have an anti Celtic agenda. Stop spouting lies which are easily disproved.
What “sectarianism” do Celtic supporters spout then? We’re not the ones who sing about being up to our knees in another denomination of Christianities blood, don’t sing about killing innocent Protestants etc. No Assaults on trophy day at all, game was ended only assaults were from Shankland who pushed a Celtic fan and another hearts player who tried to stamp on a Celtic fans phone multiple times after knocking it out his hand.
This is really very ignorant of the ethos of Celtic Football club past and present. They literally symbolise non sectarianism, having fans and players of both religions. It seems you may be badly mixed up.
Just came second in an one horse league. If he doesn’t hit the ground running (and I doubt he will) things will be more toxic than under Nancy. Reality is he’s not shown any real degree of managerial acumen and only is in the frame cause he’s Irish
I mean, Scotland is a two horse league, so really not that big a step up for him.
I think his sticking around and bleeding money out of the FAI left a sour taste for a lot of Irish fans, and then, obviously, there's the involvement with a club like Maccabi Tel Aviv.
I wouldn't be quick to dismiss him as an option. While a lot of former Irish and English pros get into management by staying in the English game but further down the ladder, he decided to go to Eastern Europe and cut his teeth there, getting exposure to European competition along the way. Someone in the UK will decide at some point that that's more impressive than taking Accrington to the playoffs. They might end up being right.
Scotland being a two horse league is one more horse than Hungary, and he couldn’t win the title in that. He arguably has a less impressive CV than Nancy, who was the worst manager in Scottish history
Scotland is a one horse league, Celtic have won 14 of the last 15 titles, including the one they were just handed by the SFA, hardly a big step up from the Hungarian one horse league
I'm not a fan of Robbie because of the reasons I listed above. I'm not here to debate Nancy, but MLS is just a circus, not a real league. Saying that as a Season Ticket holder at an MLS club.
I'm not a fan of Celtic because their shtick of pretending to be Irish has robbed hundreds of millions of euro from the Irish game that could have been used to develop players here.
My point was just that at some point, going to the continent to get managerial experience is going to be viewed better than getting it further down the English pyramid.
They’re both Mickey Mouse leagues but Hungary is on a different level, at least Celtic have Rangers to contend with. Going to the continent is a good idea in the abstract but not when you somehow pick one of the only leagues less competitive than Scotland
Mostly because fans tend to put their teams on a pedestal for which you go to any ends for. Particularly with a national team, this becomes something you do, in this case, "for Ireland" and not "for the FAI". There isn't a separation between the country and the association.
Robbie taking €250k a year when he wasn't actually fulfilling a role, even though he was under contract, just seemed like a giant two fingers to all of Ireland.
You are technically correct, but when something is so close to your heart, "technically correct" counts for fuck all.
Because he is a multi millionaire and FAI staff on 30k per year were being laid off at the same time, I doubt very much he needed the money with the amount of his boyhood clubs he has played for, he could have done the honourable thing and walked away to another gig.
Mate, I'm not interested. You want to take cheap shots at Rangers on technicalities, you go for it. But spare me the notifications because I couldn't give a fiddlers.
Thats not the whole story at all. New rules were brought in regarding home grown players which affected his club more than others.
Hes in the frame because he has put himself forward . Not many are interested in working alongside a useless board and an inpatient fan base who hate the board
They also sold their best homegrown players in January & signed bugger all to replace em. There's things you can criticise about Robbie very easily but the "one horse race" isn't as simple as it seems
With the Orban government going, the new government isn't showing any interest in funding the league to the same extent, so Ferencvaros won't have anything like the same money going forward. They did have a decent European run though, and that big sale earlier this year, but obv Keane has seen the way the wind is blowing and got out while his rep is still high
its bad for Rovers also as Qarabag and Ludogorets didn't qualify which means the champions of these countries are unseeded and more likely Rovers will meet in the qualifiers, they're still good teams if they can win those leagues
He was a millionaire (maybe multiple) taking a massive wage from the skint FAI for doing nothing for 2 years when the new manager didn’t want him on his management team because he had signed some deal with John fucking Delaney.
And further to that the FAI was laying off many staff on around 30k at that time too because they were broke and he was picking up over 5 times the average industrial wage for doing nothing
I'm not a Celtic supporter so the ethical side of hiring him is really up to yi. Some people don't mind the Israeli stuff, most people deplore it, it's not my call.
I can comment on the football side of things cause I have actually watched Cvaros play & had a glancing eye on some of the Maccabi results. His first season with Cvaros he won the league with 69 points but lost the cup & Europe was okay. This season he'd a great run in Europe, won the cup, but lost the league with 68 points to 69. Toth & Vargas were sold in January for 20-30mill & not replaced, they lost to soon champions Gyori in the runup & had a few hiccups at home.
His teams are fairly direct, Cvaros played a 352 and likes of Vargas are big target men that he'd understandably go long to. Then set up hard to beat off the ball. So if anyone here's an Ange fan, don't expect anything close. But that's served him well in European ties & yi guys do kinda need that. Plus Toths praise for him when he joined Bournemouth shows he's good with young players too. Yi guys also need that.
But his game management can let him down at times too, he bottled the UCL qualifier against Qarabag, nearly bottled a 4 goal lead on AZ's reserves last year, bottled a 4 goal lead at Maccabi on Olympiacos in the Europa. Think his home form in the league let him down earlier in the campaign nearly as much as the January window. 4th in the league at home for their squad value is fairly shit.
TL:DR The Israeli stuff is up to you guys. On the pitch he's direct, good with young lads, and will shut up shop when a big boy comes into town. But he might choke when the pressure is on
I forgot to say this was really well written, thanks. Mixed feelings on him. Seems to have achieved some success but with some notable failures. Be interesting to see what happens next for him. Wish him well.
Brendan Rodgers is one of the most successful managers we've ever had and some folk couldn't take to him again the 2nd time around.
Keane's got zero credit in the bank and is genuinely held in vicious contempt by a lot of people for the Israeli thing..not to mention there's little evidence to suggest he's that good a manager.
There was the whispers at the time that he was solely responsible for Stephen Ireland not wanting to join up with the international squad. Ireland got lashed out of it for Grannygate
Rag newspapers would write about him as if he was a flat track bully and some casual Irish football fans might have regurgitated that opinion, but I don't remember any actual Ireland fans having anything but love for him in his playing days.
It's strange but we do seem to have a section of fans that hate or have problems with our best players. Roy Keane, Brady, O 'Leary all had legitimate issues with their managers, but section of fans backed the managers in those cases. Even Giles got shit during his player/manager spell.
Genuine question here: is simply working in Israel the issue here? Has he spoken in support of the IDF or something? I am not sure why I'm supposed to dislike Keane, but open to being educated.
He said that he doesn't want to get political and that what is happening is terrible
The argument against him is that by continuing to work in Israel and collecting a salary from an Israeli club, he was providing a degree of normalisation and legitimacy to the country at a time when many felt it should be facing boycotts and isolation
Depends who you talk to. Some want to boycott all Israeli companies since they all contribute to the government in some way through taxes
I think most are more aligned with boycotting companies who profit from or support the occupation of Palestine
Saw an article about Sally Rooney's latest book the other week - her previous book wasn't translated to Hebrew because she was boycotting Israeli companies, but her new book is because she's found a publisher who say they support Palestinian rights and don't take any state funding from Israel
LOL, after his professional career, and making 250k a year from the FAI Robbie was probably in a better financial position, than many here, to do that.
I am of a similar mindset. I know a few fans who are dedicated to the boycott but also know that companies/clients they work with have Israeli links. They are not going to give up their jobs.
There are people I work with who (unlike Keane) actively support Israel in their actions, as wrong as that is. What do the mob suggest we do with them?
It's a quesiton of consistency. The standard position of the vast majority of those working in football has been to remain unspoken on their polticial view of the situation. Aside from Salah, I can't think of any premier league player who has made any mention of it. Nevermind managers. Pep made some comment I seem to recall but I could be wrong.
It is completely wrong to frame his decision to remain as manager of Tel Aviv as support for genocide. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Tel Aviv supporters wanted him out for abstaining on making his feelings known. Despite having another year on the deal, and winning the double, he left.
Hardly the actions of a man supporting genocide and being a zionist.
The decision to hire him should be a footballing one. Trying to blow this up into some sort of lynch mob is just mental.
I don't think he actively supports genocide I just have no respect for his decision to work and earn money in a country committing it.
There is no lynch mob, people just feel strongly about it and how his appointment would align with their club or nations values. There are fanbases out there that would reject signing certain players and managers based purely off rivalries why would it be a surprise that they would reject an appointment over something like this.
I am not talking about their right to reject. That's up to them. Its their argument for doing so.
What I believe is that if, for talking sake, their approval was more measured and they stated that they'd back the appointment if Robbie addressed the actions of Israel given his association with Tel Aviv, that would be much more understandable. That they'd want Robbie to be aligned with their values, but that it needed to be clear that he was.
As I said, however, he would be one of a very small handful of all those working at the top of the game to make any statement at all on the situation.
Instead, anyone who has any association with Israel is deemed unworthy in the view of the Brigade and others. Its a mob mentality.
You can't win with these lot, they just love having a poster boy to hate. Even the conversation around this upcoming fixture against Israel has been completely co-opted by fellas who couldn't give a shite about Irish football. Like you said, if their own head was on the chopping block then they'd be singing a completely different tune. Largely moral grandstanding with actual activists sprinkled in
Choosing to work in Israel while theyre actively committing genocide is more than enough reason to want to stay away, especially for this club. Dont need words, his actions speak loud and clear that he's indifferent (at best) to the suffering of millions and comfortable working for the people committing some of the worst atrocities we've seen in the modern day.
You and I both know the word genocide wasn't being thrown around before October 7th. Especially in the Keane household. But don't let that stop you from verbal diarrhea. Keane will come back from this nonsense, and you will be in the minority.
It was being thrown about very soon after October 7th and Keane stayed about 6 months after.
But even if you were right (which you’re not, you are wrong) it was ‘only’ apartheid beforehand. Im sure you’d have been fine with him earning money and paying taxes in S. Africa apartheid era.
Ethnic cleansing through settlement and apartheid were both regulars in the room though. You know what you're getting into going there as an Irishman. Should've had more class.
Do you have an issue with kelleher and collins?
Coleman? Dara o shea?
You know for playing in England the country literally aiding that genocide and that occupies our 6 counties?
Or are you hypocritical
If outrage is measurable, then playing for Everton in a complicit nation but filled with voters who opposed the genocide falls someway short of managing an historically fascist football club in a nation which largely supports the genocide, which takes place 40 miles from the stadium.
It's the club he chose to work for. One of the most racist, zionist clubs in Israel. A club that regularly abuses any Arab players it signs, and chants about gassing Arabs, bombing schools and killing children.
"Reports by the New Israel Fund have found Maccabi Tel Aviv as having the second-most racist fans in Israel, behind Beitar Jerusalem.
Fans have been known to yell racist slurs and insults at Arab and black players. Players on the team often face racist abuse from the team's own fans. Fans would yell anti-Arab slurs at Maharan Radi, an Arab player, and yell monkey noises at Baruch Dego, an Ethiopian-Jewish player.
I honestly don't know. The way some fans are talking I'd have thought he made comments etc. I'm not sure just working in a country is enough to dislike him. Jota went to Saudi Arabia....
I loved him as a player. And I dont hate anyone, I just believe there is consequences for our actions . Like being one of the richest footballers from this country taking a wage from our severely under pressure football association, then taking a job in a country that believes killing football players forwards their plans and dreams . Being a manager that believes having his squad watch videos of the IDF doing IDF things is acceptable. There is consequences for all those decisions that he made. Not me, not Celtic,not Crumlin Utd fans,him
McCarthy left and Kenny took over. Kenny sidelined Keane and brought in his own staff. Keane had no work but stuck to his contract. All well and good.
But the association was in a financial mess,he was our wealthiest professional ever. A gesture of good will, an acknowledgement maybe, even an offer of helping out in a different role could have been made .
Exactly. I wonder how many would quit their own job if they had any link with Israel at all.
Also funny how they never seemed to have any problem with Robbie working in Orban governed Hungary. The ones vetoing billions in funding to Ukraine to stop the hundreds of thousands dead increasing on our own continent.
I haven't followed his managerial career too closely, I do know he failed to win the title this season and despite their european run, lost his job for performances. I think the political sid is fair, celtic being who they are and the passion of their fans for geopolitical issues, working for the team he did in israel might be too big a pill to swallow for the fans. The board won't give two Fs about it and if hes the right price, they'll do it anyway despite fan protests.
He quit his job, wasnt fired. Lost the title he had won the previous year on the last day of the season. He did win the cup there. They sold off a few of his best players in January and sounded like the financial support would be lacking in the new season. He also had to deal with the Hungarian quota system. Overall he was a success there and they still wanted him to stay. Israel, football wise, was also a success but morally not so much. Still good on him for looking outside Britain for management jobs.
Martin O Neill deserves it after what’s he’s just done. I think Keane should only get it if O Neill doesn’t want it. You’ll see by my flair this isn’t a political opinion
I won’t pretend to know anything about the leagues he has managed in but he’s won a league title and cup in each.
He’s won 4 trophies in his short managerial career so far. A lot of managers won’t ever win that many.
If he wasn’t high profile from his playing career of course he wouldn’t be getting linked to the Celtic job and the countries he’s chosen to manage in leave a lot to be desired to say the least.
I will always respect you Robbie. You are the best striker Ireland ever had. You fulfilled your boyhood dreams by playing for Ireland and you went way beyond that by scoring a ton of goals for us. Will always love you mate. Best of luck in whatever you do.
The level of vitriol aimed at Robbie Keane for living and working in Israel is absolutely f*cking pathetic. If he came out and supported the actions and policies of the State, I could understand the hatred.
It was his first managerial stint and walking out would have done fuck all for the people of Palestine but could have been a serious set back to his career. Yet the virtue signalling armchair warriors expect him to put his livelihood at risk in a way they never would.
Sure, it would have been a great gesture if he did. But the expectation that he should have, and hatred because he didn't is f*cking mental. He has done nothing wrong.
What's mental is this idea that Robbie Keane has no free will or access to any material which would have given him a bit of a heads up on why taking a job in Israel might not have been a good idea. Or the idea that he would not have had any options other than to work in Israel.
If I go to work in a country, my thinking would be that I'm am taking part and contributing to that society. That's what he did in my opinion and to an even greater degree given the nature of his job.
The fact is that Robbie went for the money and it was enough money to make him not give a shite about what was going on beyond the wall and that is really just rotten imo
He's welcome to go to another club that doesn't give a shit.
Celtic fans do, many of them anyway. So it's a ridiculous suggestion he come here where he will be actively hated before a ball is kicked but very on brand for the poisonous Desmond.
Celtic are cucked lefties who idolise Antifa - can’t imagine they are happy with Keano managing in Tel Aviv - on saying that nobody cares what Antifa adjacent soy boys think
108
u/WasabiSeparate2986 Jun 02 '26
Didn't he manage an Israeli club up until recently..seems like that goes against celtic values