Manchester United legend Roy Keane to be played by Irish actor in new film starring Steve Coogan as Mick McCarthy

A new film detailing the infamous Roy Keane-Mick McCarthy feud ahead of the 2002 World Cup is to be released.

This led to the Manchester United legend being sent home from the Republic of Ireland training camp ahead of the tournament, with the 'Saipan Incident' Shocking Irish football.

Keane He was to participate in the World Cup, which was jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea, as captain of his country.

And considering that his preparations were not up to par, he launched into a rude tirade against the manager. McCarthy at their training base on the Pacific island of Saipan.

Now, according to VarietyTheir heated feud will be portrayed in a new film, titled 'Saipan', with upcoming Irish actress Eánna Hardwicke playing Keane.

Meanwhile, two-time Oscar nominee Steve Coogan, best known for his role as Alan Partridge, will play McCarthy.

The film is scheduled to be released in theaters next summer and will depict the events that took place in the week leading up to the controversial moment.

Speaking about the project, producers Stephen Kelliher and Sophie Green said: “A million words have been written about what happened in that fateful week in 2002 on the tiny island of Saipan.

“Next year, the public will finally be able 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 in history'.”

Directors Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn added: “We are thrilled to be working with this extraordinary cast and creative team to tell the story of an infamous moment in Irish and football history.

“It drew battle lines across a nation, shattered its hopes, dreams and sense of identity, and for a brief time turned a tiny volcanic island in the Pacific into one of the most famous places on Earth.”

Despite Keane's absence, Ireland impressed at the World Cup, drawing with Cameroon and Germany before thrashing Saudi Arabia in Group E.

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But they were heartbreakingly eliminated by Spain in the round of 16 after losing on penalties following a 1-1 draw in regular time.

McCarthy has not been shy about discussing his fallout with Keane, telling talkSPORT in 2020 that it led to him One of the loneliest moments he experienced in football..

Meanwhile, Clinton Morrison, who was part of the World Cup squad, told talkSPORT host Jim White in 2019 how Keane and McCarthy almost came to blows.

He stated: “Roy wants things to be done professionally, he was in Manchester United And he said that when it comes to the World Cup, he wants things to be done right.

“But the first day we arrived in Saipan was a nightmare. Our equipment disappeared and the training facilities weren’t the best.

“If Roy had waited a day, we would have gone to a place called Chiba (near Tokyo, Japan) and it had the best facilities, the pitch was like a carpet. But the day before he had lost his mind, he had gone mad.”

Morrison continued: “Roy obviously complained (to the press) about the facilities, and Mick said, 'I told them not to do any interviews, so why did they do this?'

Roy said: “I did an interview because I wanted to. The environment, the place, was not good enough.”

“They started arguing. I thought, hang on a minute, our best player, the best player Ireland has produced probably in many, many years, was there arguing with the manager and the whole team was watching.

“He said to Mick: 'You were a bad player anyway, you had a terrible first touch and you're a bad manager. The only manager I respect is Mr Alex Ferguson'.

“Then he said, 'And you're English, you're not even Irish!'

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“As soon as he said that, I think most people born in England stuck their heads under the table. I did. I thought: Please don’t come looking for me!

“I don't know if it would have come to blows, but Roy was furious!

“I think Mick could have done it differently, talked to him one-on-one, because Roy was always ready to attack back then, always fighting things and always ready to spring into action.

“They split up and Roy stood there and said, 'Come on, Mick. What are you going to do? Make a decision.' So he had to send him home.”