Roy Keane Delivers Verdict on Liam Scales’ Red Card at Wembley

Outspoken pundit Roy Keane has delivered his verdict on Liam Scales’ sending off for Ireland against England at Wembley last night.

It was an eventful evening for the Celtic centre-half, who put in a terrific challenge on Harry Kane in the first half. A clip of the tackle has since gone viral on social media.

Drawing 0-0 at the break, Ireland were in a positive position as the home crowd grew restless.

Just over five minutes into the second half, though, a simple long ball into the box found Jude Bellingham.

The Real Madrid midfielder took it down nicely and past Scales, but the defender left a trailing leg and tripped his man up. Referee Erik Lambrechts awarded a spot-kick and, somewhat harshly, gave the 26-year-old a second yellow card and resultant red.

The floodgates opened after Kane netted the spot-kick, with England romping to a 5-0 win.

The usually critical Keane was somewhat lenient in his post-match view of Ireland’s loss last night, though: “The sending-off has a huge effect,” he said (ITV via RecordSport).

“It’s obviously the right decision, and with the penalty, they lost belief very quickly.

“They conceded two or three from set pieces. It is hugely disappointing when you think about where they were at half-time. We said at half-time that England have the quality, but after the sending off, it’s the real lack of belief after going a goal down.”

Scales’ red card undoubtedly had a considerable impact on the way things unfolded in the second 45, although Keane looked to shift the blame away from the Celt for getting sent off.

Watching the incident back, Keane thought Scales’ defensive colleague Callum O’Dowda could have done better.

He said: “I think O’Dowda could have been in a bit tighter there. Ireland were just caught out a little bit, and it was a long way back.”

Scales’s attention now turns back to his club and an ‘ultramarathon’ fixture schedule that kicks off against Hearts at Tynecastle this Saturday evening.