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Roy Keane has defended Taiwo Awoniyi, describing the red card that saw the Coventry City striker sent off against Brighton & Hove Albion as a harsh call from referee Tony Harrington.
Awoniyi was dismissed in the 53rd minute of Coventry’s eventual 5-0 defeat at the CBS Arena after catching Brighton’s Maxim De Cuyper in the face with his elbow while the pair competed for a high ball. Harrington showed a straight red on the spot, and VAR backed the decision on review, with Coventry already 2-0 down at the time. Left to play out the remainder of the match with 10 men, Coventry were overrun as Brighton added three more to complete the rout, leaving the Sky Blues without a win, a goal, or a point after four Premier League games.
Analysing the incident on Sky Sports, Keane took issue with the severity of the punishment rather than the legitimacy of the foul itself. He pointed out that Awoniyi had his elbow up as he braced for De Cuyper’s challenge, but questioned whether it constituted a deliberate swing at the Brighton defender, saying he was genuinely unsure. For Keane, the contact looked more like an unfortunate consequence of a jump gone wrong than a malicious act worthy of an automatic dismissal.
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Even so, the Manchester United legend stopped short of fully absolving Awoniyi, framing the incident as a cautionary lesson rather than an injustice. He argued that regardless of intent, the Nigerian striker left the official with a decision to make by raising his arm into an opponent’s face — and once that happens, referees are almost always going to reach for the card.
The dismissal was Awoniyi’s first Premier League red card and leaves him serving a three-match ban, ruling him out of Coventry’s League Cup meeting with Aston Villa and Premier League fixtures against his former club Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. It was also the fifth red card shown in the Premier League this season, following earlier dismissals for Axel Disasi (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), João Gomes (Aston Villa), and Reinildo Mandava (Sunderland).
