Joe Hart responds to Roy Keane’s ‘throw medal in the bin’ demand after Man City guilty verdict
Former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart has spoken out after Roy Keane claimed he should throw his Premier League winner medal away due to the 115 charges verdict.
Ever since the confirmation that Manchester City had been found guilty of the majority of the charges brought against the club by the Premier League, former players have been massively in the spotlight.
Among them is Hart, who made 348 appearances for City between 2006 and 2018, and now he's spoken out following Roy Keane's claim that he and other City players should “stick their Premier League medals in the bin" after the club was found guilty.
Joe Hart hits back after Roy Keane claims Man City players should throw away medals
The verdict relating to Manchester City's charges found that the club had breached Premier League regulations over nine years between 2009 and 2018.
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In this time, City won three Premier League titles, three League Cups one FA Cup and the 2012 Community Shield.
Hart won five of the seven major trophies in this time, and, unlike Keane, he doesn't feel like he needs to get rid of any of his medals as a consequence of the verdict.
"Yeah, good for him. Well, you can show that one if you want, because he speaks like how people might want to feel," Hart said when speaking to Sky Vegas.
"He’s not in that situation, he’s never been in that situation, so it’s very easy to say those sorts of things, but I’m in that situation and I certainly don’t feel like that.”
Hart went on to claim that, while he won't comment extensively on the verdict until the appeal process finishes up, the outcome won't have an impact on how he reflects on his time at the club, or on his career as a whole.
So much so, that he admitted that he refused to go on a TV show in America to discuss the matter.
When asked about the potential of stripped title and how it would change his feelings, he said: "I got asked that, and I ended up not going on TV in America because they said they didn’t want it to turn into anything that it didn’t need to turn into.
"They asked if... your name comes up and it says two league titles. What am I going to do about that? What can I possibly do?
"I certainly don’t walk in the room and bang medals on the table. I couldn’t care less. And we’re all different people, and people have been shocked, because I’ve been asked this question internally, family: what does it matter to me, whether it says it or not?
“I’m so proud when I lifted those trophies and worked just as hard as everyone else does in the Premier League and any league, Sunday league, worked just as hard. And there was nothing better than having it put around my neck."
He continued: "Whatever plays out over the next couple of months, it’s not going to affect how I feel about my football and my career, because I don’t really look at it like that.
"I’m so happy and proud to have done what I’ve done, but I don’t do it anymore. Trophies, I don’t think they define me."
Hart's views extended to City's current team, who he believes are 'united' following the verdict and must instead focus on doing what the can on the pitch and trying to win the Premier League this season.
READ MORE: Man City interim punishment discussed by executives after watching Liverpool game
Joe Hart responds to Steven Gerrard calling Man City owners after 115 charges verdict
And it wasn't just Keane that Hart replied to when addressing the latest fallout to the Man City guilty verdict, as the Man City legend also gave his views on Steven Gerrard's feelings on the matter.
Hart said: "What Steven Gerrard is saying, he’s perfectly within his rights to ask those questions. Of course he is. He’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest, that I’ve ever played with, someone I look up to as a person and as a friend, and he should feel like that.
"But in terms of how I feel and the emotion that I’m in right now, I’m in amongst it. I’m right in amongst it with my club and my people on the line.
"There's no room to feel like that yet, and I totally understand what Stevie’s saying. And maybe in a few years, whenever this plays out, however it plays out, there’s going to be time for reflection.
"But right now, as a Manchester City person and a former player and someone who adores the club, there’s no room to feel like that right now.
I can’t get into Stevie’s head right now. He’s free to feel how he wants to feel. I can only be me and how I feel in this situation.
"How am I ever going to soften that blow right now for someone, especially like Stevie, who fully deserved to be a Premier League winner because of his brilliance and the years that he played in the Premier League? But that’s for him to worry about right now."
Of all the players impacted by City's breaches of the Premier League rules, Gerrard has arguably suffered the most as he missed out on a Premier League title in 2013/24 after captaining Liverpool to second place, two points behind City.
Throughout Gerrard's life, the Liverpool legend has been criticised for never winning a Premier League title, something that he may well have done if City had not been able to break the rules.
That being said, Gerrard has since stated that he would not accept a Premier League winners medal should City be stripped of their titles if they are to lose the appeal.
Topics: Joe Hart, Premier League, Roy Keane, Steven Gerrard, Football News
Ben McCrum