Roy Keane-”What Goes Around, Comes Around”

Roy Keane has broken his silence about the handball which broke the nations’ hearts.

The former skipper, who made 65 appearances for the Republic as a player has his own take on what happened in Paris in the 13th minute of extra time;

“If I’d been there in the dressing room after the game, I wouldn’t be talking about the handball. I’d focus on why the defenders didn’t clear it. They should’ve cleared it. I’d be more annoyed with my defenders and my goalkeeper than Thierry Henry. How can you let the ball bounce in your six-yard box? How can you let Thierry Henry get goal-side of you? If the ball goes into the six-yard box, where the hell is my goalkeeper? These are skills and lessons you learn as a schoolboy. Ireland had their chances in the two games and they never took them. They had chances at Croke Park and they had chances on Wednesday. They didn’t take them, but it’s the usual FAI reaction – ‘we’ve been robbed, the honesty of the game…’ It’s rubbish.”The Saipan One also pointed out that controversial decisions also went Ireland’s way in the qualifying campaign, not least a harsh penalty award against Georgia which helped them to clinch a 2-1 qualifying win in February.”There was one match against Georgia where Ireland got a penalty and it was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen which changed the whole course of the game. I don’t remember the FAI after the game saying we should give them a replay.”

Keane’s antipathy towards the FAI stems back to the Pacific island of Saipan in 2002 when he was banished from the team’s pre-World Cup training camp, after complaining that the facilities were sub-standard.Keane has never forgiven FAI Chief Delaney for failing to contact him during the incident and misleading the media as to his whereabouts after his controversial exit from the World Cup in 2002 after the row with boss Mick McCarthy over facilities.”People seem to forget what was going on in that World Cup, and that man John Delaney is on about honesty? I wouldn’t take notice of anything that man says. I was one of the players at that World Cup and he didn’t have the courtesy to ring me. I’d been involved with Ireland since I was 15 years of age and that man didn’t have the decency to make a phone call. He could have phoned me, of course he could have. He said he did’nt know where I was- he could have tried ringing my hotel room!!”

The Republic appealed to Fifa after their 2-1 aggregate defeat by France on the basis that the winning goal came after a blatant Thierry Henry handball. Keane said: “They can complain all they want but France are going to the World Cup – get over it. France were there for the taking and Ireland didn’t do it. Same old story. What goes around, comes around”.

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