Snooker star particulars Roy Keane nerves as Man Utd icon watches World Championship
Snooker star Neil Robertson revealed his nerves of playing in front of Manchester United icon Roy Keane as he returned to the World Championship.
Keane, 52, is an avid snooker fan and he was spotted at the Crucible during Friday’s evening session. The Irishman is a regular at the Sheffield venue, but his sighting might have brought back some bad memories for Robertson.
Remembering a game in 2017, the Aussie recalled on BBC Sport: “Around 2016 (sic) he was watching my match with Marco Fu. I remember coming down and glancing to my right and I was like ‘Oh my goodness, that looks like Roy Keane. Is that Roy Keane?’
READ MORE: Kyren Wilson has World Snooker Championship crowd in stitches with Mark Selby quip
READ MORE: Ronnie O’Sullivan confirms future snooker plans and what he’s ‘contracted to do’
Buy your World Snooker Championship publication!
Get your ultimate World Snooker Championship companion now.
Featuring interviews with current players, legends of the baize, pundits, TV presenters, World Snooker Tour management and other characters from behind the scenes, it really is the perfect addition to this year’s World Championship.
Pick up your copy for just £3.50 right here.
“Because he had this great big beard at the time. It was a bit of a disguise. I remember walking round the table and I’d see him and he’d be looking at me, looking at the table and I’d be so nervous.
“I was more nervous than playing the match itself – the fact I was in his presence. We don’t have that [set-up] anymore but it was fantastic to see and I definitely got my picture with him.”
What do you think about Roy Keane’s love of the World Snooker Championship? Let us know in the comments section
(Image: VCG via Getty Images)
Robertson was recalling his second round match at the 2017 World Snooker Championship with Fu. Alongside the nervousness, it might not be a pleasant memory for the 2010 champion, who was dumped out 13-11 to the Hongkonger.
Keane himself is more than just a snooker spectator, and he was famously convinced to swap Nottingham Forest for United over a game with Sir Alex Ferguson.
Fergie heard Keane was in talks with Blackburn Rovers, so the legendary Red Devils boss challenged the Irishman to a game. “From that moment, I was never going to sign for any other club,” he later recalled in his autobiography.
