Ireland fan involved in Roy Keane incident admits he was 'terrified' of him
The fan involved in an altercation with Roy Keane this week has confessed to being "terrified" of Ireland's assistant manager during the incident.
Frank Gillespie told The Star newspaper: "I did not hit him - I was terrified of him."
"He cannot walk up to one of the best Ireland fans in the last 25 years and treat them like that."
The pair have history dating back to the early nineties when Gillespie, who lives in Boston and is married to comedian Brendan Grace's daughter Melanie, became friends with Jack Charlton.
He met the Ireland squad, then managed by Charlton, during their visit to America in 1991 for the US Cup. Players and staff would often frequent the 'Blackthorn,' a Boston bar owned by Gillespie.
He later published a book in 2004, 'Confessions From The Blackthorn,' which included details of an alleged row between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy during their playing days.
Keane and McCarthy publicly fell out years later during Ireland's World Cup finals campaign in 2002, when the latter had become manager and Keane was still playing for his country.
During Wednesday night's incident at Ireland's Portadown base, Gillespie started ripping pages of Keane's autobiography out when the former Man United star refused to sign his copy following a heated discussion.
Gillespie claims he spent hours at Beaumont Hospital in Portadown following the altercation, when he's said to have fallen over after being pushed by Keane and suffered "a very bruised neck."
Irish police have indicated they will not be investigating the incident.