Concern rises over Chopra ban prospects
Jul 23 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal
A RELAXED Roy Keane is more concerned with trying to get striker Michael Chopra’s three-match ban lifted than solving his own disciplinary problems following the fractious friendly against Sporting Lisbon last weekend.
Sunderland take on another Portuguese side, Vitoria Setubal, in Ablufeira this evening but Keane already has a major problem on his hands before the start of the Premier League campaign.
Both Chopra and Keane were sent off against Sporting after the Black Cats boss argued with match officials following the striker’s red card. As a result, both could be forced to miss Sunderland’s opening game of the season against Liverpool on August 16, with Keane banished to the stand and Chopra set to be hit with a three-match suspension following his second-half dismissal.
Keane is hopeful the former Newcastle striker will get the card chalked off after studying video evidence of the incident, although he still does not know if he will be so lucky – despite apologising to referee Bruno Paixao after the game.
He said: “I haven’t got a clue what’s happening with Michael Chopra’s red card. I’ve left it with the club secretary, that’s her job. I’ve been led to believe the referee did put it in his report, but my reaction is the same as it was after the game.
“It certainly wasn’t a sending-off. We’ll see how it goes. We haven’t got the biggest squad and the last thing we want is for Chops to be suspended and miss the start of the season.
“We’ve sent our own report and video evidence and, as the worst-case scenario, I thought it was a yellow card, but we’ve just got to get on with it.
“I don’t even know if I’ve been included in the report or not. We’re more worried about Chops. I think everyone is hoping I am suspended, the players and the staff are hoping I’m sat in the stands for a couple of games!
“I spoke to the referee after the game and apologised if there had been any sort of confusion in translation between languages, but hopefully common sense will prevail.”
Keane will once again use his full squad of players against Setubal, although Kieran Richardson will almost certainly miss out after picking up a knock on his thigh in training.
And, with goalkeeper Darren Ward set to start after he was the only player not involved on Sunday night, the Irishman is hoping for a similar workout to the one they were given during the 3-1 win over Sporting – albeit without the same disciplinary issues.
He explained: “Kieran (Richardson) got a dead leg so we’ve kept him out of training and he’s a doubt for Wednesday night. You’ve seen the size of the squad and we can’t afford to take any chances.
“The team will be very similar to the one against Sporting Lisbon. We’ll try to give everyone a run-out, although the likes of Yorkie and Bardo (Phil Bardsley) might only play half an hour. Bardo missed the end of last season with an injury so we’ve got to be careful.
“I’m sure it will be a similar sort of test to Sporting, although perhaps not quite as competitive. They are similar sort of opposition, they’re good on the ball and we’re expecting a good run-out.
“I thought we got the ideal work out the other night, we had to do a lot of chasing and a lot of closing down. We were delighted with it and we showed some good quality when we had the ball as well. Darren Ward will definitely start because he was the only player who didn’t get on on Sunday night, we’ve got to be fair to all the goalkeepers. Whether he plays a half or an hour, we’ll wait and see.”
Meanwhile, Sunderland outcast Arnau has joined Scottish side Falkirk on loan for a second successive season, having failed to force his way into Keane’s first-team plans over the summer.
