Details of the row between Roy Keane and Harry Arter which resulted in the latter exiling himself from international football for the foreseeable future have emerged.
According to The Sunday World, the row - which took place back in June - began after Arter and Jon Walters were advised by FAI medical staff not to train.
Keane was allegedly critical of both, with Walters responding to Keane's critiscism - there's a long history of disagreements between the two going back to their time at Ipswich - but Arter did not.
It's is also said that Martin O'Neill was not present at the time of the altercation between Keane and the two players.
"Keane went for it," a witness told The Sunday World.
He called Arter every name under the sun, but we should not be surprised by that and it is not the first time they have clashed in recent years.
Ireland played three games towards the end of last season against Celtic, France and USA. Arter came on as a substitute in the latter two fixtures.
In his second autobiography, Keane revealed his annoyance with Ruud van Nistelrooy over his refusal to play in a 2004 FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal due to a sore knee. Keane played that game himself despite a sore hamstring.
He later revised that philosophy.
I was thinking he was the fool, but I think now that I probably was. I played, and my hamstring was fuckin’ killing me. I think I actually had a torn hamstring. Ruud ended up playing in Spain till he was thirty-nine, and he still looks twenty-one. And I thought he was the idiot.
What we see as heroic, I think now is probably weakness.
Considering this, it seems strange that Keane would expect Irish players to train - ahead of a friendly - despite medical advice to the contrary.
Last week, O'Neill admitted that the disagreement between Keane and Arter may have had something to do with the Cardiff midfielder's decision to drop out of the Ireland set-up.
Picture credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
