'Roy Keane put me in a headlock after I insulted him - I was nearly choked out'
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Irish comedian Paddy McDonnell has claimed Roy Keane put him in a headlock after he insulted the former footballer during his time at Celtic back in 2006.
Keane moved to the Scottish Premiership giants in December 2005 after he'd been released by Manchester United earlier in the year.
The midfielder fell out with Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford after criticising his team-mates while giving an interview to MUTV.
In January 2006, Celtic slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat to Clyde on Keane's debut for the club.
Roy Keane is a no-nonsense character and previously played for Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Celtic during his career
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McDonnell, who was a doorman at the time, has told the Daily Mail that he called Keane a 'Cork gypsy' - which he regrets.
The Celtic fan said: "I was really drunk and was shouting at them because Celtic were getting beat.
"At some point I said a bad thing — I called Keane a Cork gypsy and I shouldn’t have said it.
"I knew Neil Lennon pretty well and he’s obviously on the pitch with Roy. Lennon comes over and was like, 'Will you stop shouting?' When Keane sees this, he starts going to Lennon, 'You know that guy?'
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McDonnell then claims that, six weeks later, he travelled over to watch Celtic in action at their own stadium.
And he alleges that Keane put him in a headlock, though he's unsure if the whole thing was a joke or not.
"Long story short, six weeks later I was coming over for a home game," he continued. "Neil said if I came over after training on the Friday he’d give me a couple of signed shirts. I just had to meet him in the car park.
"So I get there, see his car and jump in.
"Next thing I know, this arm comes from the back seat, grabs me in a headlock and a voice goes, “Don’t ever say that to me again or I’ll f******gdo you in'.
"Neil is going, 'Come on, let him go!' and Keane is like, 'Never call me that again.'
"Well, I agreed — I was nearly choked out!
"Keane then gets out the car and calmly walks off. Lennon is sitting there and says, 'I didn’t know he was going to do that!'
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Irish comedian Paddy McDonnell has claimed Roy Keane put him in a headlock after he insulted the former footballer during his time at Celtic back in 2006
"To this day I don’t know if the whole thing was a joke.
"But it certainly put me in my place and I’ll tell you what, when the thing happened at the weekend with the Ipswich lad, my phone didn’t stop going from all my mates."
The story has been told just days after Keane clashed with an Ipswich Town supporter during their 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
The Sky Sports pundit was targeted after struggling during his spell in charge of the Tractor Boys.
Roy Keane clashed with an Ipswich Town supporter on Sunday during their 1-1 draw with Manchester United
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He was eventually dragged away by a member of the broadcaster's security team, having offered to meet the fan 'in the car park'.
Keane toiled at Ipswich, winning just 34.6 per cent of his games in charge.
He hasn't taken a job in management since and has previously suggested it's unlikely he'll return to the dugout.
Keane managed Sunderland before Ipswich, guiding the Black Cats to promotion from the Championship to the Premier League in 2007.
He was axed in December 2008, however, with Ricky Sbragia appointed as his replacement.
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