Another piece of comedy gold from the former Republic of Ireland captain.
Roy Keane took a swipe at the FAI during his pre-match punditry for ITV ahead of kick-off in the Nations League encounter between Ireland and England in Dublin.
The Corkman played for the Republic of Ireland for over 14 years, most of which he spent as captain, and returned to the Ireland setup again in 2013 as assistant manager to Martin O’Neill.
Keane has had a tumultuous history with his home country, infamously leaving Mick McCarthy’s Ireland squad at the beginning of the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan.
The ex-Manchester United captain complained about the facilities at Ireland’s training camp on the island of Saipan in the week leading up to his team’s first game of the tournament.
Keane was angered by the late arrival of the squad’s training equipment, and described the pitch the team were instructed to train on as “rock hard”.
His departure from the tournament divided the nation, and many believed that the midfielder should never be allowed to play for his country again.
Earlier, during the build up to kick-off at Aviva Stadium, Keane had a pop at the governing body for Irish football – the FAI.
When asked about the importance of the next two years for the Irish national team, Keane said: “It’s huge. Listen, the last two years, we know the problems with a lack of quality.
“There’s a lot of good people at the FAI but the the people who are making the decisions probably couldn’t organise a p*** up in a brewery. Honestly.”
Roy Keane tells it as it is 😂 pic.twitter.com/NSjLi637QE
— Rod Snell (@GrandadRodderz) September 7, 2024
That earned an eruption of laughter from the Irishman’s co-pundit Ian Wright, and left many fans watching at home stunned.
Republic of Ireland failed to qualify for Euro 2024 under the management of Stephen Kenny, whose contract was not renewed at the end of last year.
After several months with John O’Shea acting as interim-manager, the FAI appointed Icelandic coach Heimir Hallgrímsson as manager earlier this summer.
The former dentist was a relative unknown to most Irish fans, but will be hoping to show them he means business with a result against Lee Carsley’s England in Dublin this evening.
