Saipan incident

He regarded the Football Association of Ireland (FAI)'s preparations as unprofessional and challenged both Charlton and McCarthy in a number of notable incidents.

[1] Among Keane's issues with Irish management were the conditions of the camp, travel arrangements (which seated the players in business class seats on flights, while FAI officials sat in first class), strategy, expectations, diet, and McCarthy's competence as manager.

[2] In his autobiography, Keane said that before a World Cup qualifier away versus the Netherlands, the Irish players were eating cheese sandwiches because the more suitable pre-match meal of pasta was not available.

From management's perspective the time was considered a period of relative rest and recreation, at the end of a club season, and a precursor to moving to Japan to prepare for the tournament.

Keane had originally agreed to give an interview to sports journalist Paul Kimmage of the Sunday Independent.

[6][7] 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."

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.

[12] 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.

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 ask McCarthy to resign.

[13] 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.

The Irish Times later wrote that "[m]ost people have ... a story of a split between families, between friends, between work colleagues.

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.

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.