Ireland star Richard Keogh’s Euro 2020 dream was in tatters yesterday after he suffered a career-threatening knee injury in a booze-fuelled car crash.
The footballer was a passenger in team-mate Tom Lawrence’s Range Rover which collided with forward Mason Bennett’s Mercedes GLC shortly before midnight on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old has been ruled out for the rest of the season after the horrific smash on the A6 near Allestree in Derbyshire.
And yesterday Keogh’s club Derby County issued a furious response, insisting it would haul the defender in for disciplinary action, along with his team-mates.
A source said: “He’s obviously incredibly upset and down by all of this as you can imagine.”
Club captain Keogh and his two pals face a savage dressing down after they were accused of going on a boozy night out following a team-bonding dinner.
They were slammed for “drinking into the night” and ignoring “the opportunity to be driven home”.
Now Snapchat videos uploaded by teammate and ex-England star Tom Huddlestone, 32, have surfaced.
They show Bennett vomiting into a urinal while fellow players mock him for only having “three pints of Peroni”.
Captioned “youth of today”, someone can be heard telling Bennett “get it all out Mas” as he is violently sick.
Another player says to him: “F***ing three pints of Peroni are f***ing strong these days.”
Bennett, whose head is slumped against the top of the urinal, appears to slur: “I’ve had more than three.”
He then asks for a tissue and twice retches into a neighbouring toilet as someone says, “There’s a lot of sick in there you know”.
Asked if he is alright, Bennett wipes his mouth and replies: “No, put your phones away.”
In another clip, he is filmed downing a pint of lager as several players sit on sofas in the pub.
One of the group said off-camera: “That’s coming straight back up, straight on the floor.”
Another unidentified player appears to be asleep in the footage.
The videos were uploaded on to Huddlestone’s Snapchat profile before the crash.
Keogh had played in all five of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy’s competitive matches and the centre half had formed a rock solid defensive partnership with Shane Duffy.
Keogh was a back seat passenger in the Range Rover which careered into a lamppost. It is understood there is significant concerns the veteran’s age and the severity of the injuries could undermine his attempts to make a full recovery.
Lawrence, 25, and 23-year-old Bennett were arrested and charged with alleged drink-driving shortly after the crash and Derby County yesterday launched an internal investigation.
Keogh’s injury is a huge blow for the Boys in Green who are set to play at least two matches in the Aviva Stadium next summer if they qualify for Euro 2020.
He will now almost certainly miss the pan-European tournament if Ireland succesfully book their place.
Derby County confirmed Keogh will be out for the rest of the season in a statement yesterday and they said all three players will face disciplinary action.
In a statement the club, managed by Dutchman Phillip Cocu, condemned the “alcohol-related incident”.
It read: “As a club, we cannot, and do not, condone the actions of a small group of players on Tuesday evening. The players were out as part of a scheduled team-building dinner with staff.
“While the majority of them acted responsibly and left at around 8pm and were not involved, a small group, including team captain Richard Keogh, continued drinking into the night.
“They should have known when to stop and also ignored the opportunity to be driven home using cars laid on by the club and chose to stay out.
“Richard Keogh has sustained a serious knee injury that will prevent him from playing until the end of the season.
"The players involved will be subject to a rigorous internal investigation under the club’s code of conduct and disciplinary procedures but over and above any punishment they receive we will be expecting them to become involved with the excellent work the Community Trust does helping the communities we serve.”
It is believed a large part of this work focuses on building links with schools, physical activity and coaching young players.
The Derby spokesman added: “We have been very clear about our attitude towards alcohol and the players know that at certain and specific times of the season they are permitted a drink together as a group in a controlled environment.
https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/richard-keogh-derby-car-crash-20306510
