Steve Coogan and Éanna Hardwicke are set to star as Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane in a film about the infamous Saipan debacle at World Cup 2002.

According to Variety, Saipan will tell the story of the infamous bust-up between the Irish football captain and manager at the team’s pre-tournament training camp on the tiny Japanese island.

The pair’s bitter feud over Ireland’s preparation for the tournament saw Keane - then among the world’s best players - returning home to Ireland and missing the tournament in one of the darkest moments in Irish sporting history.

Manager Mick McCarthy (right) and Roy Keane during a World Cup training session with the Irish squad during a Republic of Ireland training session in Saipan, 2002. Image: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

The feud generated so much controversy that even Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was prepared to intervene - however, Ireland eventually played on without their captain, losing on penalties to Spain in the Round of 16.

Saipan has been described as a ‘civil war’ in Irish sports, with many disagreeing on who was truly in the wrong.

In the end, Keane would not play for his country again until 2004 after McCarthy had stepped down as manager.

Saipan film

English actor and comedian Steve Coogan will star as McCarthy in the new film while rising star Éanna Hardwicke will play Keane.

Coogan rose to fame through his alter-ego Alan Patridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality.

He also wrote and starred in the 2013 drama Philomena with Judi Dench, which was nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards.

Roy Keane and Éanna Hardwicke. Images: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

Cork actor Éanna Hardwicke first gained attention for his supporting role in the 2020 drama Normal People and has since appeared in several TV shows and films including The Sixth Commandment and Netflix’s Fate: The Winx Saga.

Saipan will be directed by Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa — the duo behind the 2013 Irish comedy-drama Good Vibrations and the 2019 romance Ordinary Love.

The script is by Paul Fraser, the screenwriter behind thriller Dead Man’s Shoes starring Paddy Considine.

The 2005 musical I, Keano originally starring Mario Rosenstock portrayed the events as a mock-Greek tragedy.