Footage has emerged of Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson in a touchline confrontation with an opposition player during his team’s most recent match.
What’s the latest on Crystal Palace and Roy Hodgson?
Premier League football is back upon us with the 2022/23 season kicking off this season and it has already delivered an Erling Haaland goalscoring clinic, a Bukayo Saka beauty, and much much more.
However, for all the champagne football and poetry in motion, true football fans always love a little bit of argy-bargy and that’s exactly what we got as Palace travelled away to Sheffield United for their first league match of the new campaign.
Playing at Bramall Lane – with the Blades promoted from the Championship last term – the Eagles managed to pick up a narrow 1-0 victory thanks to a single goal from Odsonne Edouard, which he scored in the 49th minute of the match.
Understandably desperate to cling onto their lead as the minutes dragged on, Hodgson – who turned 76 years old this week – did all he could to help his team pick up the points with a touchline tussle on the hour mark.
And this was beautifully captured in the footage being circulated on Twitter and on Sky Sports’ YouTube channel – which you can see below.
As the ball runs out of play, the former England manager stops it with his foot. Sheffield United defender Max Lowe, who is 26, is first on the scene and ends up in an aggressive confrontation with Hodgson who refused to let him pick the ball up and get on with play.
Crystal Palace podcast host Dan Cook, also known as HLTCO, best summed up the incident on Twitter, saying: “Turned 76 this week and still backing himself against someone 50 years his junior. Don Roy.”
Discussing the incident with talkSPORT after the game, Hodgson said: “I don’t think he meant to catch me, chasing the ball to the side. We both smiled about it. My first reaction of course when I received the blow was complain. But I think it was a pure accident, it was nothing.”
Is Roy Hodgson staying at Crystal Palace?
Hodgson only returned back at Palace last season in March – two years after leaving – to help guide the club to safety after things had taken a turn for the worse under Patrick Vieira.
He did a fine job as he led the Eagles to an 11th-placed finish in the league and has kept his job over the summer, as confirmed by the Selhurst Park outfit in July.
He will remain in charge for the 2023/24 season and seems very up for the job – as evidenced by the footage above.
On being confirmed in his current role, he said in a statement shared on the Crystal Palace website: “I am immensely pleased and proud to be extending my time at Crystal Palace, and I would like to thank the Chairman and Sporting Director for their continued faith in me.
“I know what a fantastic squad we have here. It’s a great blend of youth and potential, alongside experienced players with Premier League and international pedigree.
“I have spoken with the Chairman at length and we agreed that we must be ambitious in getting the most out of such talent. As such, we have set ourselves the target of a top-half finish, which we believe is eminently achievable with such a fabulous group of players and the most magnificent supporters who get behind the team, week in, week out.”