Former Manchester United and Ireland star Roy Keane drew criticism and laughter on The Overlap podcast after attacking the wives and girlfriends of England players for wearing team shirts with their partners’ names on the back during England’s 4-2 win over Croatia at the World Cup in the United States.
Keane said the shirts were the one thing he would send to “Room 101,” the British phrase for something to be eliminated forever. “The shirts. At the World Cup, when all the players’ wives and families come to the game, and all the women are sitting there with shirts with the player’s name on the back... wow,” he said. He added that it was fine for children, but not for “the women and girlfriends” wearing them.
Gary Neville’s question on the popular podcast triggered an awkward silence before Ian Wright defended the partners, saying, “It doesn’t bother me.” Keane was not convinced, replying that “a year later most of them are separated anyway” and mocking the sight of women pointing to names like “Jimmy” or “Johnny” on their backs. “We know who you’re married to,” he said. Wright countered that if a woman is proud of her husband, “it sounds very simple,” but Keane insisted the practice was ridiculous and only happens at World Cups, not weekly at Old Trafford or Anfield.
The article also notes that England players’ partners have become a major media attraction at major tournaments. Reports in England said Thomas Tuchel has now scrapped a Gareth Southgate-era policy and allowed partners and families into the national team training camp during the current World Cup, a significant change from the previous setup.
