2002 Roy Keane incident
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article's tone or style may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (May 2009) |
The Roy Keane Incident was a serious public quarrel in May 2002 between Republic of Ireland national football team's captain Roy Keane and manager Mick McCarthy when the team was preparing for its matches in Japan in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. It resulted in Keane, a key player, leaving the squad. The general public in Ireland was divided about apportioning blame for the incident. The undermining of McCarthy as manager was seen as playing a part in his departure shortly after the World Cup.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Background
Prior to the incident, Roy Keane was captain of the Irish national team. Since his senior debut under the reins of Jack Charlton and then-captain Mick McCarthy, Keane had perceived problems with the preparations of the Irish side. He regarded the Football Association of Ireland (FAI)'s preparations as unprofessional and challenged both Charlton and McCarthy in a number of notable incidents.[citation needed]
Among Keane's issues with Irish management were the conditions of the training field, travel arrangements (which made the players sit in second class seats on flights, while FAI officials sat in first class), strategy, expectations, diet and McCarthy's competence. In his autobiography, Keane said that before a World Cup qualifier away versus the Netherlands, the Irish players were eating cheese sandwiches because pasta, the proper diet before games, was not available.[citation needed]
[edit] World Cup preparation
During the summer of 2002, the Irish football panel were sent to prepare for the World Cup. The facilities had been selected by an FAI delegation, with minimal involvement by McCarthy. Keane is reputed to have told Alex Ferguson that he was going to the World Cup "to win it". This was later denied by Keane but has become an article of faith among pro-Keane Irish journalists.[citation needed]
On 21 May Keane decided he was going home.[1]Two days later Keane was sent home by McCarthy.
From the management perspective the time was considered a period of relative rest and recreation at the end of a long season before moving to mainland Japan to up the preparation levels for the tournament. Keane, on the other hand, viewed it as a period of preparation for the World Cup Finals. Contrary to some suggestions,[citation needed] Keane did attend a barbecue with the Irish media. Afterwards, with the team training the following day, he returned to his hotel room. The remainder of the squad stole off to a nearby English pub - where they drank all night with the journalists.[citation needed]
[edit] The media
Irish broadcaster RTÉ became aware of the developing row, as did several Irish newspapers. The 'bust up' between Keane and the team management was reported without any journalist managing to hear Roy Keane's views on team preparation.[citation needed] Because of its isolated location, there were certain stories circulating about the event which were all critical of Keane. The Daily Star newspaper had been a harsh critic of Keane for months in the run up to the competition. This included persistent allegations about Keane's commitment to the Irish soccer team.
Keane gave an interview to leading sports journalist Tom Humphries, of the Irish broadsheet daily newspaper The Irish Times, to present his case to the Irish people. In retrospect this proved to be a major scoop for the Irish Times. In the article, Keane listed the events and concerns which had led him to decide to leave the team. This article included details and references to the preparations that had been set in place for the Irish team. The article directly confronted the FAI as being uninterested in player welfare, team preparations, or fan expenses.[citation needed] This would be an indirect implication that the event was organized as a junket for FAI officialdom. The article was seen as a direct affront to the authority of the Irish manager, and the competence of the FAI. The article escalated tensions to a considerable degree. McCarthy now decided to question Keane over the article. In a team meeting McCarthy held up a copy of the article and asked "What's this all about?" Keane then unleashed a stinging verbal tirade against McCarthy: "Mick, you're a liar … you're a f***ing wanker. I didn't rate you as a player, I don't rate you as a manager, and I don't rate you as a person. You're a f***ing wanker and you can stick your World Cup up your arse. The only reason I have any dealings with you is that somehow you are the manager of my country! You can stick it up your bollocks." [2] Niall Quinn observed in his autobiography that "Roy Keane's 10-minute oration [against Mick McCarthy] … was clinical, fierce, earth-shattering to the person on the end of it and it ultimately caused a huge controversy in Irish society." But at the same time, he was also critical of Keane's stance, saying that "[He] left us in Saipan, not the other way round. And he punished himself more than any of us by not coming back." [3] None of his team-mates voiced support for Keane during the meeting, though some later expressed their support to him privately. Keane mentioned in his autobiography that Gary Breen and David Connolly visited his room. Senior players Steve Staunton and Niall Quinn seemed to take the side of McCarthy, and the FAI, in the argument that followed. Staunton was the most loyal to the FAI line of the argument. Staunton was later given the captaincy in Keane's absence.
Keane alleged later in his autobiography that Irish fans were "mocked" by the "lax attitude" taken by the FAI towards preparations.[citation needed]During a team meeting at which McCarthy allegedly accused him of feigning injury and Keane became indignant. McCarthy decided that Keane's position was untenable in the light of the article. Keane refused to back down. McCarthy then sent Keane home.
[edit] Consequences
Despite the efforts of the media and the Taoiseach, Keane and McCarthy failed to resolve the conflict and Keane missed the World Cup. Keane gave an interview concerning the controversy to RTÉ and when asked if it was possible to go back he did not deny that he might. Despite McCarthy's having stated that the door was open and all Keane had to do was pick up the phone, Keane refused and reportedly did not even watch the matches on television.[citation needed] The Irish football team were defeated by Spain in the second round.
[edit] The Genesis Report
The FAI commissioned a report from external consultants Genesis, into its World Cup preparations. The "Genesis Report" agreed with many of Keane's criticisms, finding that the FAI structure was not conducive to good planning and making a range of recommendations. The complete report was never published for legal reasons. Brendan Menton resigned as FAI General Secretary at this time, and the media linked the two events, though Menton denied this.
[edit] McCarthy's departure
Roy Keane stated that he would not play again for Ireland under McCarthy, and in his autobiography even said that his former national team coach could 'rot in hell'. McCarthy continued as national team manager and Ireland then played Russia in a qualifying match for the European Championship, for which Ireland were strong favourites to win. Ireland lost to a badly resourced Russian team 4-2, who had played badly in the World Cup. This was followed by a "booing" episode in Ireland's next qualifier against Switzerland, with many fans blaming McCarthy. Ireland lost the game 2-1 at Landsdowne Road. In the face of rebellion on the terraces, a decrease in support for the national team, and consequent declining attendance revenues, the FAI decided to remove McCarthy. The appointment of Brian Kerr as team manager in 2003 led to Keane's return to international football on 27 May 2004, in a friendly match against Romania at Lansdowne Road.
[edit] Settling differences
As of November 2006, Keane appeared to have mended the fences with McCarthy when the two men settled their differences via a phone call ahead of a match between McCarthy's Wolverhampton Wanderers and Keane's Sunderland. The televised famous handshake between the two men received considerable media attention. In April 2007, the managers again met in another match, and Keane praised McCarthy for his work in Sunderland previous to Keane's tenure there.
[edit] In popular culture
In 2005, a musical comedy play parodying the incident and its key players, I, Keano, opened in Dublin. The play, written by Arthur Mathews, Michael Nugent, and Paul Woodfull, represented the incident as a mock-epic melodrama about a Roman legion preparing for war. Keane himself attended a performance of the show,[4] which ran successfully in Dublin until May 2008.
In an echo of the incident, three main cast members, including Mario Rosenstock, who portrayed "Keano" (the play's version of Roy Keane), left the show early in its first run, leading to media articles about life imitating art imitating life.[5] [6] [7]
[edit] References
- ^ Irish Times Archived Irish Times report on the incident.
- ^ "10 classic Roy Keane rants". Guardian football. http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,1606114,00.html.
- ^ "The Odd Couple". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/5281188.stm.
- ^ Hundreds Queue for Tickets on Roy's Home Turf Niamh Hennessy, Irish Examiner, 26 July 2005
- ^ Art Imitates Life as Hit I, Keano Camp Splits. Evening Herald, 25 Feb 2005
- ^ New Scandal For Roy Keane Musical. Brian Logan, The Guardian, 3 March 2005
- ^ Lasting Impression Interview with Mario Rosenstock, Irish Examiner, 24 December 2005
