Derby County’s decision to sack Richard Keogh has been blasted as ‘morally and ethically wrong’, with Jamie O’Hara accusing the Championship club of ‘throwing him to the wolves’.
The Rams have terminated their captain’s contract over the drink-driving episode that left him with a serious knee injury.
Keogh was a back-seat passenger in the Range Rover driven by team-mate Tom Lawrence that crashed into a lamppost after a night out on September 24.
The 33-year-old defender was left facing more than a year on the sidelines after undergoing ACL surgery.
But he is now without a club after he decided not to accept an offer of reduced wages in order to stay at Pride Park.
Keogh, who has been at Derby since 2012 and played 356 games for the Rams, had 18 months to run on his £25,000-a-week deal.
But while he has been sacked, Lawrence and forward Mason Bennett, who were both suspended from driving and fined six week’s wages over the incident, have remained at the club.
And Derby have been criticised for prioritising money over supporting a long-serving player.
Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara told talkSPORT host Jim White: “The biggest problem with this situation is the other two lads are still there.
“They’re young boys, they’re assets for the club and they’ve gone back to play.
“Keogh has, for me, just been dumped to the wayside.
“They’ve used Keogh, he’s been great for them, and then all of a sudden when he needs you the most, when his career is at the end and he might need some help, I feel as though they’ve just thrown him to the wolves.”
Former England cricketer Steve Harmison was also left stunned by the news and said Derby’s decision is not morally or ethically correct.
“For two to stay and one to go, it just stinks a little bit of they’ve got a value and he hasn’t,” he said on the Sports Breakfast.
“Morally and ethically it’s not right.
“He wasn’t drink driving, he was in the back of the car.
“He’s going to be nearly 35 when he comes back with two busted knees. That’s the end of his career.”