Football Language: Prawn Sandwich Brigade

This is an expression coined – invented – by former Ireland and Manchester United captain Roy Keane when describing some sections of the home support. During a Champions League match in 2000 some fans were critical of the United players despite being 1-0 up and Keane criticised them for not supporting the players more. He said that some of the fans did not really understand football and that they were more interested in having a drink and eating prawn sandwiches. Since then, the term ‘prawn sandwich brigade‘ has come to mean fans who attend a match to enjoy the food and drink rather than the game itself – they are not ‘real’ football fans.