Keane sent home from World Cup

Manchester United's fiery captain Roy Keane was today sensationally thrown out of the World Cup.

The Republic of Ireland's controversial 30-year-old skipper was sent home by his manager after an extraordinary outburst against his own teammates.

Keane has been having a simmering row with his manager, Mick McCarthy, since Tuesday and only this morning it seemed Keane had been persuaded to toe the line, at least until the World Cup was over.

However, in explaining his decision to remain in the squad, Keane once again attacked McCarthy's management set-up and also questioned the professionalism of his teammates.

Many Ireland players were said to be "outraged" and within hours McCarthy had decided Keane's presence was becoming too divisive. "I cannot and will not tolerate that level of abuse being thrown at me so I sent him home," McCarthy said, labelling Keane a disruptive influence.

The dispute first came to light on Tuesday, when Keane turned on goalkeeping coach Pat Bonner and goalkeeper Alan Kelly on the training ground at their Pacific island base of Saipan, asking why the squad's goalkeepers were not playing in a practice match.

An hour later, Keane, who has 58 caps and was in the 1994 World Cup, told McCarthy he had "had enough" and was pulling out. Later, calls to his club manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, persuaded the father-of-four to change his mind and stay. His registration only beat the final deadline by five minutes.

But Keane caused more offence today when he gave a press conference to announce why he would be retiring from international football after the tournament. He criticised the training facilities and the "rock hard" pitch in Saipan and added: "But you know, we're the Irish team, it's a laugh and a joke. We shouldn't expect too much. Some people accept it easier. Maybe that's why some of our players are playing where they are. You have to want the best.