Keane sent home for shooting his mouth off

Roy Keane, the captain of the Republic of Ireland, will play no part in the World Cup after being sacked and sent home from the team's training camp in Japan yesterday.

Mick McCarthy, the Ireland manager, sent Keane packing after the Manchester United midfield player continued to make ferocious criticisms of Ireland's preparations for the tournament, which begins next Friday.

In an interview published yesterday in Ireland, Keane attacked the decision to fly 17 hours to the Pacific island of Saipan, which has only one football pitch, specially built for the team's arrival.

He also complained about the rock-hard pitch and the general quality of the training facilities.

Keane's initial threat to walk out, made on Tuesday, was withdrawn after talks involving his club manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. However, Keane continued to criticise in the media and was outspoken in his comments at a team meeting yesterday.

"It became a slanging match," Mr McCarthy said. "I cannot and will not tolerate being spoken to with that level of abuse, so I sent him home. He is one of the best players in the world but he is a disruptive influence."