Richard Keys slams Harry Redknapp as former manager denies responsibility for Birmingham City’s financial troubles
The Championship club could be deducted 12 points for breaching FFP regulations
Richard Keys appears to have hit out at Harry Redknapp's refusal to accept blame for Birmingham City's financial troubles - which have left the club with a nine-point deduction.
Blues were docked nine points on Friday morning for breaching the EFL's profitability and sustainability rules, plunging the Championship club into a relegation battle.
A hearing with lawyers representing both the club and the EFL began earlier this week, with the league's governing body pushing for a 12-point deduction - the most severe punishment since Leeds were docked 15 over a decade ago.
Birmingham's excessive overspending was detailed in the club's accounts, which were published earlier this year.
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They showed Blues were spending £202 for every £100 they brought in, and had an annual loss of £37.5million in the year ending June 2018.
The huge loss is understood to be in part due to a massive increase in wages throughout Gianfranco Zola and Harry Redknapp's managerial tenures.
Redknapp, however, has since come out to absolve himself of any blame for Birmingham's financial woes.
In an interview with the , Redknapp, who was Birmingham boss for just 13 matches, said: "It's surely down to the people who run the club, like the chief executive and the chairman, or whoever, to know if we've got any money to spend.
"I didn't know anything about Financial Fair Play. I was never warned by anyone at the football club that there was going to be a problem with that.
"There were three lads from Brentford that came in [Jota, Harlee Dean and Maxime Colin] - they were all good players but they weren't on my shopping list.
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"I'd never even see any of them play, they were brought in by other people above my head."
Keys, the former Sky Sports presenter and current beIN SPORTS senior football anchor, has taken exception to Redknapp's comments.
In a fiery Twitter post Keys blasted Redknapp, saying he 'f***ed up' a number of his former clubs, and expressed hope that the 72-year-old has left the game for good.
"Of course he didn’t," Keys wrote as a caption to a picture of Redknapp's denial. "Same bloke f****d up QPR Pompey & West Ham & might have done at Spurs but for Daniel Levy.
"Let’s hope he’s out of the game now and can’t do anymore damage - whoever he was."
This is not the first time this season Keys has waded into a debate concerning English football, with some comments he made in January seeing the presenter widely mocked.
He defended Newcastle owner Mike Ashley amid criticism from Magpies' supporters, and claimed Rafa Benitez, the club's manager, was to blame for their poor position in the Premier League table at the time.
And, even more incredibly, Keys claimed Benitez should spend his OWN money on new signings, rather than always complaining about the lack of investment from Ashley.