Paddy Power has suspended betting on the Premier League sack race following a flood of bets and widespread rumours on a Roy Keane walkout at Sunderland.

Keane had been sitting reasonably comfortably in the Sack Race pack at 14/1 at lunchtime today whilst Mark Hughes headed the betting at 3/1. However sustained betting on the Irishman drove his price all the way down to 4/1 favourite with Hughes out to 11/2 before Paddy Power pulled the plug.

Rumours had been sweeping the North East that Keane has walked out on Sunderland and failed to board the team bus for the journey against tomorrow’s opposition Blackburn Rovers. It wouldn’t be the first team Keane has walked out, having famously quit Mick McCarthy’s Ireland World Cup squad in 2002.

Paddy Power said: “This has come from nowhere but punters have piled onto Keane since lunchtime. Roy looked to be sitting pretty in the midfield of the sack race with other managers seemingly under far more pressure but, with his previous, there was always going to come a time when punters jumped onto a Roy Keane walkout story like this.”

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