Kevin Kilbane starred for Ireland at the 2002 World Cup.
20:15, 09 Jan 2026Updated 20:18, 09 Jan 2026
Roy Keane shakes hands with manager Mick McCarthy.(Image: ©INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan)
Kevin Kilbane has given his verdict on the movie ‘Saipan’ that released in Ireland in early January.
The film depicts the fall out and controversy that followed after Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy clashed just ahead of the 2002 World Cup which resulted in the Manchester United captain exiting the Ireland camp.
Kilbane played a key part in Ireland’s run in the tournament, where they lost on penalties to Spain in the Round of 16, in South Korea, and his recollection of the McCarthy and Keane feud does not align with the new film’s.
When writing for The Irish Times, Kilbane did not hold back in criticising parts of the film he called false.
Kevin Kilbane of Ireland and Luis Enrique of Spain.(Image: )
“The record needs to be set straight on a few falsehoods so that people learning about Saipan, via the film, do not think we were a pub team on tour,” he wrote.
“We reached the last 16 at the tournament without the best midfielder in the world.
There was an ill-judged barbecue on the island that the travelling media attended. The film has Roy fuming from his balcony as we did the conga night after night.
“Bullsh*t. We had the one session and Roy was there; I remember him being annoyed that the hacks were invited, but he moved on with us to play darts in a local pub. He was in grand form.”
Kilbane went on to say Niall Quinn is unfairly portrayed and that McCarthy, played by Steve Coogan, deserves a better representation.
“Niall Quinn was my roommate in Saipan,” he added. “He should steer clear of this interpretation of him as a hapless idiot. Quinny is one of the most intelligent players I’ve ever met.
“Not sure about the Fiona McCarthy character either. Fiona is an incredible woman, the rock Mick would lean on when times were tough, but the entire narrative about her husband being a bumbling manager who was easily cowed is complete nonsense.
“Mick took zero crap from the FAI blazers. He has always been a leader of men, a hero to young lads like me who grew up on a diet of Euro 88 and Italia 90. He deserves a better reflection than Steve Coogan’s character and the script’s interpretation of events.
“The height difference was annoying. Roy didn’t loom over Mick. Nobody did.”
The former Everton and Sunderland player also recalled how brutal Keane and McCarthy’s argument was in front of the squad: “Mick was on my right-hand side, so I had to slide around to see him, and with Roy over my left shoulder, it felt like Mick was looking at me, but he was looking straight at Roy when he pulled out a few sheets of paper. ‘Roy, I want to address this,’ he said. ‘I think you owe the players an apology for this piece.’
“That was it. Boom. Roy piled into Mick for what seemed an eternity. To this day, it still feels like none of us should have been privy to the Ireland manager and captain airing their differences. It needed to happen in a room with one or two mediators. Such as Mick Byrne or whoever.
“The tension between them had been building for years.
“Roy, clearly, felt cornered by Mick, and Roy Keane only knows one way out of a tight spot.
“He took it that Mick accused him of feigning injury for the second leg in Iran. But that was not said in the meeting. Mick did say he played for Manchester United the Saturday after missing Tehran, which he did.
“Roy replied: ‘You had an agreement with Alex Ferguson that I was only going to play one game.’
After Keane’s diatribe, McCarthy said: ‘Roy, it is either you go or I go, and I am going nowhere.’ Roy stood up and said ‘all the best’, shook hands with Stevie Finnan and walked out.”