Keane faces FA charge after ref clash
The Corkman was asked to leave the dugout by match referee Martin Atkinson after he had questioned series of decisions in the tunnel at half-time as his side was put to the sword at Stamford Bridge.
An FA statement said: “Sunderland manager Roy Keane has been charged with improper conduct. The charge relates to his conduct towards referee Martin Atkinson in the tunnel at half-time of Sunderland’s match against Chelsea on Saturday, November 1.
“Keane has until November 19 to respond to the charge.”
If found guilty, Keane could face a touchline ban.
His side’s defeat at Chelsea was their second in four days after a 1-0 reverse at Stoke. The former Manchester United midfielder insisted after the game that he had not been sent off, but rather asked to watch the second half from the stand.
“I didn’t swear at him (Atkinson) or anything,” Keane said at the weekend.
“All you want when you play one of the big boys is a bit of fairness, and I don’t think we got that today.”
Meanwhile, Keane has played down the comparisons between returning striker Kenwyne Jones and Chelsea superstar Didier Drogba — for now.
The 24-year-old made his first start of the season in the 5-0 drubbing at Stamford Bridge in which the Ivory Coast frontman appeared as a substitute as he continues his own recovery from injury.
Jones, a £6m signing from Southampton two summers ago, made such an impact with the Black Cats in the Premier League last season that he was mentioned in dispatches alongside the likes of Drogba and the top flight’s very best goalscorers.
However, while Keane, who has valued the Trinidad and Tobago striker at £40m, is confident he has a major talent on his hands, he knows he still has a lot to learn.
He said: “To compare him to the Didier Drogbas of the world at the moment is a little premature. Drogba has done a lot more in the game. He’s older, he’s more experienced, had more international games, etc.
“But yeah, the people who work with Kenwyne think he has all the attributes to be a top, top centre-forward.”
“Potential is one thing, it’s fulfilling it which is the important thing,” added Keane.
Jones has figured in his club’s last three games after his recovery from the knee ligament injury he suffered on international duty against England in June.
Despite the summer arrivals of loan signing Djibril Cisse and El-Hadji Diouf, the former Southampton striker has been missed, and his presence in the squad, despite successive defeats by Stoke and Chelsea, has come as a major boost.
