Matt Holland thinks Roy Keane had plenty of 'valid points' in the fallout of the infamous Saipan row before the Republic of Ireland's 2002 World Cup campaign.
Still remembered as one of Irish football's most controversial moments eighteen years on, Keane was sent home after a spat with manager Mick McCarthy in the build up to the tournament.
The saga has been a hot topic for almost two decades, but Keane's then Ireland team-mate Holland has described the overall feeling as disappointment at the time.
He told Talksport: "The overriding emotion was of disappointment.
"If you think about the talent of Roy Keane, he probably would have got into most of the teams at that World Cup, to lose a player of that quality was one of disappointment.
"That was perhaps the overriding emotion, shock as well, as to what happened and how it transpired."
And in hindsight, Holland reckons that the midfield ace had plenty of valid reasons behind the public quarrel over Saipan facilities and travel arrangements.
He continued: "Looking back, Roy had a lot of valid points and I think most people agree with that as well.
"There was a report after the World Cup had finished that looked into the preparations and how the FAI went about things, and actually a lot of what Roy said were found to be absolutely right.
"The facilities weren't great when we arrived, the kit arrived late, and the fact that we were travelling at the back of the plane and some of the officials were sitting at the front of the plane.
"There was all sorts of things (that showed) what he was saying was absolutely right."
Cork native Keane has criticized Holland in the past, questioning the ex-Ipswich and Charlton star's Irishness after claiming he saw him sing 'God Save the Queen' at Wembley.
In his 2014 autobiography, Keane said: "Love of a country is a hard thing to measure but if you see a player on the TV who played for Ireland, singing 'God Save the Queen' in a play-off final, you might just say, 'Oh, right. Maybe he's not really all that Irish'.
"Matty Holland would be an example. For me, Matty is as English as David Beckham. He played for Ireland and he obviously has the roots.
"But he played for Ipswich in a play-off final, in 2000, and he was singing 'God Save the Queen' at the top of his voice. I don't think he could have sung it any louder. Some of the other Irish lads saw him, too, so at the next couple of international matches we were going, 'Turn that rebel music up a bit'."
Holland has since defended the incident, claiming he 'mistakenly' mumbled a few lines of the English anthem and is embarrassed by it.
“It was a big occasion and my mind was on the game,” he explained.
“I looked across and saw George Burley singing it and thought he’s Scottish maybe I should be singing it. I mistakenly mumbled a few lines (certainly not at the top of my voice) and am embarrassed by it."
