AFTER 24 YEARS of debate, some sports fans would be forgiven for feeling tired of the infamous Saipan controversy that led to Roy Keane’s sensational exit from Ireland’s 2002 World Cup squad in the lead-up to the tournament.
Yet the commercial and critical success of a movie – released last year – about one of the biggest stories in the history of Irish sport suggests there is an abiding fascination with an argument that took place almost a quarter of a century ago.
And Keane, the man at the centre of the drama along with Ireland boss Mick McCarthy, is still willing to discuss the matter after all these years.
“What could I have possibly done differently? How can I have a regret?” the former Man United star told Micah Richards and Clinton Morrison in the third episode of their new Sky Bet World Cup miniseries, Road To America.
“Do I wish it had happened? Of course not.
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“If a manager calls a player out in a group of players about missing a game with an injury, where could I go with it? I’m obviously going to react. What other player could have stood there and taken it?
“For all the rigmarole for the week, [missing] gear, that was all sorted. We had moved on from that, and the next morning, we were flying out to the official Fifa training camp, and you go: ‘That’ll be decent.’ The one we were with [before] was with the FAI.
“Kevin [Kilbane] would be very much in Mick’s camp – he would be because Mick played him lots. He said recently he could not believe Mick didn’t call me out on my own [rather than in front of an audience].
“I have been a player, and I have been a manager. If Mick McCarthy had come to my room that night and said, ‘Listen, what happened there, wrong call,’ [I'd have accepted the apology].
“Over the years, [in arguments] if I’ve been wrong, or they’ve been wrong, and people have put their hand out to me, boom, it’s done.”
When it was suggested that Keane was still hindering himself by not going to the World Cup, the Corkonian added, “Put yourself in my shoes. I was playing for Ireland since I was 15. I had watched Ireland in 1988 and 1990, playing in the 1994 World Cup – ongoing battles about travel arrangements, pasta and doing things properly. When Mick got the job, meeting me, ‘Mick, we’re going to do things properly.’ So all that baggage was in the background.
“If we had a big bust-up before Malta at home, nobody would have cared. But [people did] because it was on the eve of the World Cup.
“Your legacy for an Irish player or any team is what you leave behind for people.
“The easiest thing for me [would have been to keep my mouth shut]. I had won stuff in my career and had played in the 1994 World Cup.
“I could have just said: ‘I don’t give a flying f**k.’ But I would be more guilty sitting here; I’d have more regrets if I let all that go. But what about the lads coming in after you?
“What happens afterwards? Of course, things did improve [in the Irish set-up].”
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24 years on, Roy Keane has no regrets over Saipan controversy
AFTER 24 YEARS of debate, some sports fans would be forgiven for feeling tired of the infamous Saipan controversy that led to Roy Keane’s sensational exit from Ireland’s 2002 World Cup squad in the lead-up to the tournament.
Yet the commercial and critical success of a movie – released last year – about one of the biggest stories in the history of Irish sport suggests there is an abiding fascination with an argument that took place almost a quarter of a century ago.
And Keane, the man at the centre of the drama along with Ireland boss Mick McCarthy, is still willing to discuss the matter after all these years.
“What could I have possibly done differently? How can I have a regret?” the former Man United star told Micah Richards and Clinton Morrison in the third episode of their new Sky Bet World Cup miniseries, Road To America.
“Do I wish it had happened? Of course not.
“If a manager calls a player out in a group of players about missing a game with an injury, where could I go with it? I’m obviously going to react. What other player could have stood there and taken it?
“For all the rigmarole for the week, [missing] gear, that was all sorted. We had moved on from that, and the next morning, we were flying out to the official Fifa training camp, and you go: ‘That’ll be decent.’ The one we were with [before] was with the FAI.
“Kevin [Kilbane] would be very much in Mick’s camp – he would be because Mick played him lots. He said recently he could not believe Mick didn’t call me out on my own [rather than in front of an audience].
“I have been a player, and I have been a manager. If Mick McCarthy had come to my room that night and said, ‘Listen, what happened there, wrong call,’ [I'd have accepted the apology].
“Over the years, [in arguments] if I’ve been wrong, or they’ve been wrong, and people have put their hand out to me, boom, it’s done.”
When it was suggested that Keane was still hindering himself by not going to the World Cup, the Corkonian added, “Put yourself in my shoes. I was playing for Ireland since I was 15. I had watched Ireland in 1988 and 1990, playing in the 1994 World Cup – ongoing battles about travel arrangements, pasta and doing things properly. When Mick got the job, meeting me, ‘Mick, we’re going to do things properly.’ So all that baggage was in the background.
“If we had a big bust-up before Malta at home, nobody would have cared. But [people did] because it was on the eve of the World Cup.
“Your legacy for an Irish player or any team is what you leave behind for people.
“The easiest thing for me [would have been to keep my mouth shut]. I had won stuff in my career and had played in the 1994 World Cup.
“I could have just said: ‘I don’t give a flying f**k.’ But I would be more guilty sitting here; I’d have more regrets if I let all that go. But what about the lads coming in after you?
“What happens afterwards? Of course, things did improve [in the Irish set-up].”
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2026 world cup Clinton MorrisoN Looking Back Roy Keane Saipan Soccer Ireland Republic