Ian Harte exclusive: "Roy Keane said he was going to f***ing smash me, so I sobered up and went to bed"

Ireland defender Ian Harte
(Image credit: Getty)

We've all know a mate with a short fuse who gets a little feisty after one too many. But it's a totally different story when that mate is Roy Keane and he's making violent threats against you during a heavy drinking session. 

That's precisely what happened to Ian Harte while away on Ireland duty in 2001. The former Leeds, Reading and Bournemouth left-back made 64 appearances for the Boys in Green between 1996 and 2007 – a period which overlapped that of legendary hard man Roy Keane. 

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Ed McCambridge
Staff Writer

Ed is a staff writer at FourFourTwo, working across the magazine and website. A German speaker, he’s been working as a football reporter in Berlin since 2015, predominantly covering the Bundesliga and Germany's national team. Favourite FFT features include an exclusive interview with Jude Bellingham following the youngster’s move to Borussia Dortmund in 2020, a history of the Berlin Derby since the fall of the Wall and a celebration of Kevin Keegan’s playing career.