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Wednesday, 10 February 2010

World News FAI Chief Urges Keane to 'Move on'

Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney has described Roy Keane's outburst against Ireland on Friday as "sad" and urged the former Republic of Ireland captain to "move on".

Ipswich manager Keane had little sympathy for the FAI's campaign to have their controversial World Cup play-off against France replayed following Thierry Henry's handball and said "what goes around comes around".

Keane's antipathy towards the FAI stems back to the Pacific island of Saipan seven years ago, when he left the team's pre-World Cup training camp, complaining that the facilities were sub-standard.

"People seem to forget what was going on in that World Cup, and that man (FAI chief executive John Delaney) is on about honesty. I was one of the players and he didn't have the courtesy to ring me," the former Sunderland manager said on Friday.

"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."

However, Delaney said this afternoon that Keane should move on from the affair, telling Sky Sports News: "It's just a sideshow.

"We've all moved on from Saipan - Niall Quinn, Mick McCarthy, the FAI and all the players - but it seems to me that he (Keane) hasn't.

"It's time for him now, in my opinion, to learn from the past - not live with it.

"I really thought the images shown around the world on Friday were very sad - it's sad to see a great former player reflected in the manner as he did.

"It's time to forget about Saipan and move on - because everyone else has."

Copyright (c) 2009 Press Association

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