The wife of Robbie Keane has accused his detractors of provoking a ‘witch hunt’ against him and putting their family at risk.
Robbie Keane has faced fierce criticism from pro-Palestinian campaigners for not resigning as Maccabi Tel Aviv manager following the October 7th attacks on Israel which prompted the war on Gaza.
He joined the club in June 2023 and resigned a year later having guided the club to the Israeli league title.
Writing on X, Claudine Keane said her husband was a “political pawn” and that he did not like Israel before agreeing to take up the job with Maccabi.
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She and her husband had been targeted by a “small number of individuals” online who sent death threats and had engaged in intimidation and character assassination.
“None of us signed up to this situation that happened months into his role, it was a nightmare! Please stop this absolute witch hunt and consider that politicians should not get to tell you where you can and cannot work,” she said.
She did not name the politician involved.
The issue of Robbie Keane’s tenure as Maccabi Tel Aviv manager was raised again this week when he visited the Ireland squad camp on Monday. The invitation came at the request of the FAI. Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson said he was unaware of the controversy surrounding Keane.
His wife said she felt “extremely uncomfortable and sometimes intimidated by some messages again from a small group that are hurtful, threatening and dangerous. They are inciting hated by making absolutely outrageous accusations. I always felt safe in Ireland until now.
“I always wanted to move home and bring my kids up her and enjoy the Ireland that both me and my husband love. We love our country. We are not politicians. We have never done any wrong. My husband spent the majority of his adult life committed to the Ireland team.
“To see a politician say he should not be welcomed because he went to work in a country he does not like before the war began and resigned from a job he loved and did well to protect us his family in Ireland.
“Also, it seems to be trendy in media in Ireland to absolutely try to assassinate my husband’s character very maliciously. There is a certain sports radio channel that have openly spoken of their dislike from petty things like his cartwheel because apparently it’s overindulgent or maybe is it because he’s refused a number of requests for interviews over the years. You can’t hide the absolute bias, malice and defamation over the years it’s nothing short of a disgrace.”
Ms Keane said she had no problem with people in general protesting about Gaza. It was the ones who had targeted her and her family online with whom she had an issue.
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