One of the Ipswich Town supporters involved in a heated exchange with Roy Keane has spoken out, claiming the pundit initially walked away from the confrontation before returning to make a comment about seeing one of them in the car park. Neil Finbow, a 55 year old season ticket holder, was among the group of fans at the front of the stand who were involved in the altercation with Keane following Manchester United's draw at Ipswich Town.
Finbow, who has been a fan of the team since 1974, revealed that one of the other individuals involved in the exchange was upset about Keane's behaviour around his children during his time as Ipswich manager between 2009 and 2011. While Finbow had some sympathy for Keane, he also expressed frustration about the pent-up emotions from those in the stands, and made it clear that he doesn't consider Keane to be a good role model.
"It was the guy in the middle's comments that got him, I think," Finbow told the Mirror. "He was going on about his time when he was manager, how he treated his kids."
In a spirited defence of Keane, one fan suggested that the infamous 'I'll see you in the car park' comment might have been misunderstood, saying: "I will sort of defend Roy Keane here as well, because it may be that the comment 'I'll see you in the car park' is to talk to the guy rather than take him out, so it can be misconstrued. I thought he was being quite aggressive, in hindsight."
He further explained the root of the confrontation: "The guy had an issue, when [Keane] was at the club, when you see him point he was pointing to 'when you were here in the car park, you ignored my kids and swore at them', and he had an issue with that. So obviously that's been pent-up."
Finbow, who attended the match with his elderly mother and young son, reminisced about his childhood days standing on a crate to watch Ipswich play under Bobby Robson's management in the 70s and 80s. Despite the altercation, he expressed no regrets: "I don't have any regrets [about going down the front].
"It's pent-up anger. No swear words came out of my mouth, I just said 'you're a better pundit than you are a manager'."
Finbow, who has played football himself, albeit not at a professional level, reflected on the nature of receiving comments during a game: "I played football, not at that level, and you get comments on a football pitch and you just have to let them ride, don't you."
He also mentioned the viral nature of the incident but dismissed its significance, comparing it to Eric Cantona's notorious kung-fu kick: "I spoke to my friends this morning and they said it's all gone viral, that's not what I want. I'm not worried about that. But it's not the Eric Cantona kung-fu kick is it.
"That guy got banned for life for throwing some atrocious stuff at Eric Cantona, but those sarcastic comments from myself and the guy who had an issue from years ago about his kids... I think we pay a lot of money to go down there, our hard-earned cash, and I've watched some dross. I think it was just pent-up inside.
"The clip where he's saying 'the car park' is the second time he comes over. He comes over and listens to the guy, goes back, comes over. Jamie Redknapp doesn't pull him away but he's talking to him to come back... and that's basically it."
Finbow is worried about the potential effects on his season ticket following the incident but remains resolute.
"Everyone I sit with knows what I'm like," he continued. "I'm in the family bit there, I've been there for years. I do worry about my season ticket, someone has put on there that it could affect it, but I don't think I've been abusive or anything. If people class that as abuse then it's just gone mad."
He insists on setting the record straight, adding: "I want my side to be heard, that it was more sarcasm than anything. To be fair, he's provoked it by coming over, hasn't he? I was actually saying 'calm down, Roy', funnily enough, which I've been telling a lot of my friends to do this morning."
Reflecting on Keane's time at Portman Road, he confessed that others may have faced worse, yet didn't respond as Keane did. Finbow didn't mince his words, saying: "The only other thing, I'll say this now, is Roy Keane as a player was a fantastic player, but as a human being, in football I think he's one of the worst," and went on to criticise Keane’s impact as a role model, referencing his controversial autobiography - "He's wrote in his autobiography that he's deliberately gone out to end someone's [Alf-Inge Haaland] career, which doesn't help him when he comes to Portman Road and the youths have got to look up to him."
Moreover, he recalled Keane's infamous World Cup walk-out: "And he walked out on the World Cup, didn't he. That wasn't just Ipswich Town with me, it was just this is the person himself, they're role models to kids, and I don't think he's the ideal role model."
