Roy Keane slams 'out of order' Kylian Mbappe for what he did after 'breaking nose'
Roy Keane has slammed Kylian Mbappe for his unsportsmanlike behaviour after he sustained a nasty injury to his nose during France's 1-0 win over Austria.
Mbappe suffered what appeared to be a broken nose after accidentally colliding with Austria centre-back Kevin Danso late in the game in Dusseldorf. The France captain had blood pouring from his nose as the medical staff attended to him, but the events afterwards opened him up to criticism.
The 25-year-old was ushered to the sidelines by the medics but then decided to re-enter the field of play, forcing the referee to stop the game when Austria were chasing an equaliser. Mbappe walked onto the pitch holding his nose before sitting down. Didier Deschamps then replaced him with Olivier Giroud.
Speaking about Mbappe's decision to return to the pitch to stop play, Keane said on ITV: "He gets an injury, it's frustrating. Obviously he's gone back onto the pitch to stop the play. But he's gone on to sit on the pitch, I don't like to see this, this is out of order if he's been instructed by the manager to go back on.
"He's obviously had treatment and come off. I don't mind that he's gone back on, but to go back on and sit on the pitch, he deserved that yellow card, I don't like to see it."
Gary Neville added: "To be fair, when he looks back, I think he'll be disappointed, because I think he's looked at Deschamps and Deschamps has gone 'Get on' and I think he'll feel like he's let himself down."
Former England defender Matt Upson made a similar point on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Mbappe has gone back on the pitch without permission - the referee is going to book him and rightly so. You cannot do that! Was he advised to go back on? He just walked back on holding his nose and sat down on the pitch. It looks like he has badly damaged his nose."
Kylian Mbappe (R) sits on the football pitch after being injured colliding with Austria's defender #04 Kevin Danso
"Apparently the nose is not good at all," Deschamps said post-match. "So we’ll see. It’s obviously the negative point of the evening. Even if it’s just his nose it’s annoying for us."
Mbappe wasn't the only Frenchman to endure a painful night, with Antoine Griezmann sustaining a cut to his forehead after being nudged into the advertising hoardings by Max Wober. But it was ultimately a successful night for Les Bleus, who opened their campaign with three points in Group D thanks to Wober's own goal.
New captain Mbappe was at the heart of the game's only goal, having sent in the cross which Wober managed to nod past his own goalkeeper in the first half. The soon-to-be Real Madrid striker should have made it 2-0 when he went through on goal in the second half but he surprisingly shot wide.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.