Roy Keane has confirmed that he does not intend to play for the Republic of Ireland again as long as Mick McCarthy remains the manager of the national team. In an interview with his club's television channel, MUTV, the Corkman said: "I know how important it is to play for Ireland, but not until it's under new management, and that's out of my hands."
The issue of the World Cup is "done and dusted", he said, before adding: "The fans' reaction when I came back home was fantastic. They can see through a lot of things and a lot of people, and now things have been found out they know where I'm coming from."
The comments are the clearest indication yet that there will be no accommodation reached between the midfield star and McCarthy, despite the efforts of advisers to both men to broker a deal before Ireland's opening game of the World Cup finals.
While neither McCarthy nor Brendan Menton could be contacted last night, Keane's remarks will clearly come as a blow to the FAI whose officers, while repeatedly making it clear that they would not undermine their manager, had been hoping the two men might soften their positions sufficiently to allow the 30-year-old to play a part in Ireland's European Championship qualification campaign.
The interview was screened last night, only a few hours after the association had confirmed that a former governor of the Central Bank, Maurice O'Connell, would oversee the review of the organisation's performance in relation to this summer's finals.
The news also comes when doubt has been cast on the findings of another of the association's inquiries, with reports from Merrion Square suggesting that written evidence uncovered in the past week undermines the findings of the Legal Affairs Committee's investigation into the Paul Marney affair.
The new evidence, which consists of a written account by a league official of early events in the saga, appears to support Roy Dooney's version of events in relation to the original discovery of Marney's non-registration, an account which the committee subsequently rejected in strong terms in its report.
For Dooney, the documentation has almost certainly come too late to prevent his departure from the league, which has been the subject of negotiations during the past few weeks.
Dooney's position became almost impossible after Shelbourne, Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers joined forces to press for his departure. His reputation had been undermined primarily by allegations that he had mishandled last year's registration difficulties involving St Patrick's Athletic.
While he admitted to having made mistakes during his involvement with the dispute which eventually cost the Inchicore club the league title, he has strongly denied some of the accusations made against him, and any new evidence which supports his version of events would strengthen his position in the current negotiations.
A pay-off of round €75,000 has already been agreed, and if the remaining issues can be ironed out then it is expected Dooney will depart next Wednesday.
