Roy Keane refuses to apologise to Andy Robertson after calling him a big BABY when he was elbowed by an assistant referee

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Roy Keane has stood by his accusation that Andy Robertson is a 'big baby' after lampooning him with the label in 2023. 

The Sky Sports pundit famously infantilised Robertson when he was at Liverpool after he complained about being elbowed in the face by a linesman during a match against Arsenal.

Linesman Constantine Hatzidakis was pulled from duty during an investigation into the incident. As Robertson walked off the field at half-time, he had appeared to speak to Hatzidakis while lightly touching him on the right elbow. Hatzidakis responded by lifting his elbow into Robertson's face.

The Scotland international was left holding his chin and appeared to say: 'He's just elbowed me in the throat. The linesman has elbowed me in the throat.'

But Keane afforded him little sympathy at the time, saying: '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.'

Roy Keane has refused to apologise for calling Andy Robertson a 'big baby' in 2023

He labelled Robertson as such after the then-Liverpool star complained about seemingly being elbowed in the face by a linesman

He then went on to repeat 'baby' multiple times, leaving the Sky Sports studio and many viewers at home in stitches. 

Now the duo have been brought together on an episode of Stick to Football - and have had a laugh about the incident. 

But Keane, with a smile on his face, refused to back down on his original statement. 

'This is not an apology!' he began. 

'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 he heard that Keane wasn't apologising, Robertson interjected: 'I wasn't expecting one!'

He also quipped: 'The first two babies were alright, the third one was too far.'

Elsewhere on the episode, Robertson, who now plays for Tottenham, admitted that Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz struggled to settle in at Anfield last season because the squad 'didn't care about football' following the death of Diogo Jota.

Robertson alleged he had been elbowed by the linesman at the end of the first half in a match against Arsenal

Liverpool remonstrated with referee Paul Tierney after the alleged incident with the linesman  

Sky Sports pundits Roy Keane and Gary Neville reviewed the incident at half-time

Robertson's team-mates could be seen reacting to the alleged clash in the video footage

Jota was tragically killed in a car accident alongside his brother Andre Silva in northern Spain in July 2025. The 28-year-old had been on his way to report to Merseyside for pre-season training.

In the same summer, Liverpool purchased both Isak and Wirtz for a combined £241million. However, both players struggled in what was a difficult season for the Reds, as they finished fifth in the Premier League.

An emotional Robertson said: '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.

'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 was entering the final year of his Reds deal, having already won everything there is to win during his time at the club, when he learned that his friend and team-mate had passed away suddenly.

The Scotland international confessed that the Liverpool squad 'lost' their determination on the pitch due to the tragedy, which led to poor results, and ultimately, a trophyless season.

He continued: '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.

'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.'

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