Irish soccer legend Roy Keane has come under fire by a religious group over comments he made about his dislike for yoga.
The former Manchester United star said yesterday that his worst-ever performance of his career was against Real Madrid in 2003.
He was responding to one of 50 questions posed by his former teammate Gary Neville during a TV special to mark Keane's 50th birthday.
Man U lost to the Spanish side in the Champions League quarter final second leg, but Keano cited one specific thing as causing his lacklustre performance on the day.
He told Neville on Sky Sports' The Overlap: "I'll tell you, I remember we played Real Madrid one time at home.
"I'd just tried yoga a couple of days before that, and I couldn't get going, my energy was low, and it was Real Madrid at home.
"I couldn't get a kick, and I was taken off, and I remember thinking I'm finished at real top-level football."
The comments did not go down with one group, however who took umbrage with the Mayfield man's remarks.
Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, was not happy with Keane's aversion to yoga and encouraged him to explore the benefits of the practice.
The Hindu statesman said: "Passing blame of one’s crummy performance to highly beneficial yoga was quite out of line.
"Many scientific and academic studies had revealed the multiple benefits yoga provided.
“Yoga was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche."
Mr Zed added that Keane was "clearly doing a disservice to himself if not fully availing the valuable opportunities yoga provided".
President Michael D Higgins is a big yoga advocate, which Mr Zed also referenced in his statement to Keane.
In May, the Irish president said he and his wife Sabina would like to see yoga taught in schools.
“I wish, and Sabina would say the same, wouldn’t it be wonderful if they were teaching it in schools and teaching it in institutions and [that they were learning about] the great wonderful gentle respectful way that [yoga] is to the human body?” he said.
