Richard Keys thinks modern football has 'gone too far' in furious rant, he's had enough

Veteran broadcaster Richard Keys has slammed players who cut holes in their football socks and claims the practice has 'gone too far'.

Keys is well-known to British audiences thanks to formerly being one of the major football hosts at Sky Sports, before his departure in 2011 alongside Andy Gray.

The duo have since relocated to the Middle East and now front the football coverage by Qatari-based sports channel beIN Sports.

The broadcaster covered yesterday's FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium, which Pep Guardiola's City side won 2-0 thanks to a first half brace from Bernardo Silva.

As both teams walked onto the pitch at the Etihad, Keys referred to an article he read in The Times by footballer-turned journalist Gregor Robertson who had written a piece about the modern phenomenon of players cutting holes in their football socks.

The idea behind this is that because football socks tend to be very tight fitting, cutting holes in them it relieves pressure on the calf muscles and the Achilles tendon and it aids the blood flow, as well as potentially reducing the risk of cramp later on in games.

Well, it's safe to say that it's a theory and practice which Keys is not a fan of as he lambasted the trend as 'nonsense' and feels it has gone too far.

He said: "I was interested to read an article by Gregor Robertson in The Times this week talking about the nonsense of cutting holes in socks.

"Kyle Walker was one of the first. He went on to make the point quite rightly of course that it makes absolutely not a jot of difference when you think about the fact that they sit in compression socks at the end of the game which bring a firmness to the calf.

"Gregor also made the point, he quoted me and said that I was right that in Spain they have outlawed it. I sent him a message to say that I know, I researched that before I mentioned it, although Jude Bellingham gets away with it.

"It's gone too far. There is no scientific evidence that it aids blood flow to calves at all."

Listen and watch to the full rant from Keys below.

"It's gone too far!" 😡@richardajkeys is still concerned about players cutting holes in their socks to let more blood flow to their calves... #FACup #MCINEW pic.twitter.com/KhfkVfJ4LJ

— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) March 16, 2024