Roy Keane stands firm on calling Andy Robertson a 'big baby'

Roy Keane has maintained his stance that Andy Robertson is a 'big baby' following his earlier comments in 2023.

The Sky Sports pundit famously belittled Robertson when he was at Liverpool after the player expressed his frustration over being elbowed in the face by a linesman during a match against Arsenal.

Linesman Constantine Hatzidakis was temporarily removed from officiating duties while the incident was investigated. As Robertson left the pitch at half-time, he appeared to speak to Hatzidakis while lightly touching his right elbow. Hatzidakis responded by raising his elbow into Robertson's face.

The Scotland international was seen holding his chin and reportedly said: "He's just elbowed me in the throat. The linesman has elbowed me in the throat."

However, Keane showed little sympathy at the time, stating: "Do you know what he is? That Robertson, I’ve watched him a number of times. He’s a big baby. That’s what that guy is. Just get on with the game and concentrate on your defending. He does grab the linesman first."

In a recent episode of Stick to Football, the two were reunited and shared a laugh about the incident. Yet, Keane, smiling, refused to retract his original comment, declaring: "This is not an apology!"

He elaborated, saying: "Players have to remember sometimes, we're in the studio, we can have long days, and it can be a bit flat. Sometimes a player can do something and you're just a bit like... you can be agitated by having a long day. None of them (the other pundits) are saying anything, I'm looking at them like 'you gotta say something.' That's why I threw the last baby in!"

When Robertson heard that Keane wasn’t apologising, he responded: "I wasn't expecting one!" He also joked: "The first two babies were alright, the third one was too far."

In the same episode, Robertson, now with Tottenham, revealed that new signings Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz struggled to adapt at Anfield last season due to the squad's emotional state following the death of Diogo Jota.

Robertson claimed he had been elbowed by the linesman at the end of the first half during the Arsenal match, while Liverpool protested to referee Paul Tierney regarding the incident.

Robertson's teammates were visibly reacting to the alleged clash in the video footage. Tragically, Jota lost his life in a car accident alongside his brother Andre Silva in northern Spain in July 2025, just as he was set to report for pre-season training.

That summer, Liverpool acquired both Isak and Wirtz for a total of £241 million. However, both players faced challenges during a tough season for the Reds, who finished fifth in the Premier League.

An emotional Robertson expressed: "It's difficult to describe or talk about really because what we went through, it was horrendous. If I'm talking about the new signings, they're coming into a club that is heartbroken. And that is where I felt so sorry for these guys because they had signed and had signed for big money and all."

He continued, "If I'm talking about football, it took them months to settle in because we didn't care about football. That was the truth of it because we just lost one of your best mates in the changing room."

Robertson, who was in the final year of his contract with Liverpool and had already won numerous trophies with the club, learned of his friend's sudden passing. He admitted that the squad had 'lost' their drive on the pitch due to the tragedy, resulting in poor performances and a trophyless season.

He reflected: "I think all footballers we all have that edge, don't we? I think when you lose that edge sometimes, then you can't perform to your best. And I think last season we lost the edge. When I look back on it, we lost that maybe determination a little bit, and things like that because I know at times we were going 'What's the point?' Look at what Jotsy's family are going through, look at his kids."

He concluded: "But yeah, we were grieving as a group. It was our mate at the end of the day. He's not a footballer to us. He was a team-mate, he was a friend, he was an everything."

Source: Daily Mail