Steve Coogan to play Mick McCarthy in film about bust-up with Roy Keane

• Saipan will portray events that led to Keane’s exit
• Film scheduled for release next summer

Steve Coogan is to play Mick McCarthy in a film about the then Republic of Ireland manager’s bust-up with Roy Keane before the 2002 World Cup. Saipan, scheduled for release next summer, takes the name of the Pacific island where the squad were preparing for the tournament hosted by Japan and South Korea. McCarthy said he sent Keane home because the midfielder had become “a disruptive influence”.

Playing Keane will be the Bafta-nominated Cork native Éanna Hardwicke. Coogan’s mother was born in Ireland and his great-grandparents on his father’s side emigrated from Ireland to England. Keane is from Cork.