Roy Keane left the FA in little doubt yesterday about his views on its much-vaunted Respect campaign after dismissing the initiative as a public relations gimmick. The frustrated Sunderland manager joined a growing number of his contemporaries to question the validity of the scheme, which was launched amid great fanfare at the start of the season with the intention of fostering closer relations between match officials, players and managers.

Keane chipped away at the uneasy truce in questioning the merits of the campaign. “I’ve got big question marks and I did at the time with this Respect campaign,” he said.

Set to request a personal hearing over being charged with improper conduct after being sent to the stands at half-time by Martin Atkinson, the referee, during the 5-0 defeat away to Chelsea, Keane might have chosen a more opportune time at which to voice such an opinion.

“I have no problem with referees making mistakes,” he said. “Then when the assessor rings you on Monday and says, and they’re his words, ‘Clearly the second and third goals should never have stood,’ that’s why you feel you’re entitled to question a referee. That might come into my defence.”

Keane’s last run-in with the FA was in 2002, when the former Manchester United captain was suspended and fined for revelations in his autobiography that he deliberately targeted Alf Inge Haaland, the Manchester City midfield player. “Last time they had a murder lawyer against me, they made sure they won the bloody case, not that you get a fair hearing,” he said. “I’ll probably look at it with the club secretary, who is a qualified lawyer, and go down and have a nice day out in York.”

Keane’s ire was not restricted to the FA, as he also turned his attention to Sky Sports and what he views as the satellite broadcaster’s shoddy treatment of Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager. “I’d rather go to the dentist,” he said. “You’re sitting there with Richard Keys and they’re trying to sell something that’s not there. They’re brainwashing people.”

Keane was put out by the apparent trial by television to which Wenger has been subjected after Arsenal’s failure to win for three matches. “There was a debate about Arsène Wenger on Sky. How crazy is that? We’re giving these people air time. I wouldn’t listen to these people in the pub.”

Keane’s views helped to deflect attention from several concerns closer to home before today’s clash with Portsmouth. The Sunderland manager disciplined El-Hadji Diouf, Djibril Cissé and Pascal Chimbonda for contravening the club’s prematch curfew. The trio were spotted on a night out less than 48 hours before Sunderland’s chastening afternoon at Stamford Bridge. Keane said: “The three players were dealt with this week. They had a fair hearing.”