Steve Coogan is to play Mick McCarthy in a film about the then Republic of Ireland manager’s bust-up with Roy Keane before the 2002 World Cup. Saipan, scheduled for release next summer, takes the name of the Pacific island where the squad were preparing for the tournament hosted by Japan and South Korea. McCarthy said he sent Keane home because the midfielder had become “a disruptive influence”.
Playing Keane will be the Bafta-nominated Cork native Éanna Hardwicke. Coogan’s mother was born in Ireland and his great-grandparents on his father’s side emigrated from Ireland to England. Keane is from Cork.
Keane’s exit came after he criticised the training facilities and approach to training and delivered a withering assessment of McCarthy in front of the rest of the squad when he said to his manager: “You can stick your World Cup up your arse.” McCarthy said: “I cannot and will not tolerate being spoken to with that level of abuse being thrown at me so I sent him home.”
The film’s producers, Macdara Kelleher and John Keville, said: “A million words have been written about what happened on that fateful week in 2002 on the tiny island of Saipan. Next year audiences will finally get to experience first-hand the feud between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy and why it was labelled ‘the worst preparation for a World Cup campaign’.”