‘No regrets’ – Mick McCarthy would not change a thing about Roy Keane row that shook football

Mick McCarthy has insisted he ‘wouldn’t change’ the way he handled his infamous falling out with Roy Keane at the 2002 World Cup.

The well-documented ‘Saipan incident‘ saw Manchester United legend Keane sent home from the Republic of Ireland training camp prior to the tournament, sending shockwaves across Irish football.

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It was a decision which divided the public, with Keane heading into the World Cup in Japan and South Korea as his country’s captain and talisman.

He felt their preparations for the tournament hadn’t been professional enough, and told manager McCarthy as much in a furious rant.

The huge bust-up, which took place at Ireland’s training base on the Pacific island of Saipan, has rumbled on in the years since, with both Keane and McCarthy sharing their version of events.

And now, over two decades later, the fallout has been turned into a film, with ‘Saipan’ set for release later this month.

Two-time Academy Award nominee Steve Coogan – famous for his role as Alan Partridge – will play McCarthy, while upcoming Irish actor Eánna Hardwicke takes on the Keane role.

‘No regrets about it at all’

With the film to show the events in the week leading up to the controversial moment, McCarthy joined talkSPORT’s Weekend Sports Breakfast to share his reflections on it.

And while the iconic manager admitted he had some reservations at first, he has no qualms at being reminded of his actions.

He said: “There was a big part of me [that] thought: ‘No, we don’t need that dredging up again. 

“However I go, it gets mentioned. But look, it’s part of my history.”

In Keane’s absence, McCarthy’s Ireland managed to make it out of the group stage unbeaten – finishing second behind Germany.

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PA:Press Association

Defeat to Spain on penalties in the last 16 spelled the end of an impressive Irish effort, which the ex-Wolves boss reminded listeners.

McCarthy continued: “We had a great World Cup and you know what’s really sad about it? We got through to the last 16 – we lost to Spain on penalties, and the lads were great. 

“The lads who played it, some of them don’t even get recognised for it, there’s all this other stuff that went on.

“And, do you know? I’d do it all again. Absolutely I would, and I wouldn’t change.

“If circumstances happen – it all kept happening – I’d do it all the same again. So I’ve got no regrets about it at all.”

What did Roy Keane say to Mick McCarthy?

With ‘Saipan’ to portray McCarthy and Keane’s feud on the big screen, fans can expect plenty of explosive drama – if if is anything like the players’ version of events.

Keane famously addressed the incident in his autobiography and said that McCarthy could ‘rot in hell’.

One man who has shared his version of events is Clinton Morrison, who was part of Ireland’s World Cup squad.

He told talkSPORT in 2019: “Roy wants things done professionally, he was at Manchester United and he said when it comes to the World Cup, he wanted things done properly.

“But the first day we got to Saipan was a nightmare. Our kit went missing and the training facilities were not the best.

“If Roy waited a day, we went to a place called Chiba [near Tokyo, Japan] and it had the best facilities, the pitch was like a carpet. But he’d lost his head the day before, he’d gone mad.”

Morrison continued: “Roy had obviously had a moan [to the press] about the facilities, and Mick said: ‘I told you not to do any interviews, so why have you done this?’

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“Roy said: ‘I did an interview because I wanted to. The set-up, the surroundings, they have not been good enough’.

“They started arguing. I’m thinking: ‘Hang on a minute, our best player, the best player Ireland have probably produced for many, many years is there arguing with the manager and the whole squad is watching it.

“He said to Mick: ‘You were a bad player anyway, you had a rubbish first touch and you’re a poor manager. The only manager I respect is Sir Alex Ferguson‘.

“Then he said: ‘And you’re English, you’re not even Irish!’”

With the pair almost coming to blows, Morrison ended on how McCarthy found himself faced with a huge call.

He added: “They got separated and Roy stood there and said: ‘Go on, Mick. What are you going to do? Make a decision.’

“So he had to send him home.”