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| May 24, 2002 | Friday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 11,1423 |
Irish skipper sent home
DUBLIN, May 23: Ireland captain Roy Keane was sent home from a training camp in the Pacific on Thursday after abusing coach Mick McCarthy, a bombshell decision that shattered his team’s World Cup hopes.“Roy Keane will be taking no part in the World Cup — he is going home,” McCarthy said.
“Sanity is more important,” was Keane’s verdict after what McCarthy described as a “slanging match” between the two men.
Keane, Ireland’s only world class player, had strongly criticised training facilities on the island of Saipan. McCarthy decided the volatile Manchester United midfielder was a disruptive influence and undermining team morale.
“I cannot and will not tolerate being spoken to with that level of abuse being thrown at me so I sent him home.
“I have made the right decision not only for the benefit of me but for the squad,” McCarthy told Irish reporters.
Earlier this week Keane had threatened to fly home before the tournament starts on May 31. In one interview he said that to log all his complaints “I’d need my own newspaper” and claimed the team’s treatment by Irish officials was a joke.
A FIFA spokesman said a player could be replaced in a squad only because of a serious injury. “This appears not to be the case with Roy Keane,” he told Sky Sports television.
Ireland, which handed in the names of its 23-strong squad on Wednesday, may therefore start the tournament with only 22 men.
“This is a huge decision but I am happy to go to the World Cup one man down rather than with a man who shows utter disregard and disrespect for me,” said McCarthy.
Bookmakers lengthened the already long odds on Ireland to win the World Cup to 100-1 from 80-1 after Keane’s expulsion. Defender Steve Staunton will take over as captain.
The news was received in stunned amazement by Irish fans, thousands of whom had planned to fly to Japan for the first game against Cameroon on June 1.
“I felt like someone had died when I first heard the news,” said Francis Walsh-Kemmis, 25, an Internet website designer preparing to fly out to Asia this weekend.
“It’s just awful. Without Keane we’ve lost our driving force. There isn’t going to be anyone making those crucial tackles in midfield. The FAI are idiots for sending him home.”
But the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) defended McCarthy, saying the veteran coach had no choice.
“I think Roy’s a huge player, fantastic player, somebody who I would be a huge supporter of,” FAI treasurer John Delaney told state-run RTE television.
“But team morale must come before anybody and in this case team morale was affected and Mick has made the appropriate decision.”
The FAI will hold a news conference at 1430 GMT.
Keane played in the 1994 World Cup and is one of the finest midfielders in Europe. Earlier on Thursday he announced he would quit international soccer after the 2002 tournament.—Reuters
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