O’Neill Confirms Keane Altercation “May Have Been A Reason” For Arter Leaving Ireland Squad

It's been a turbulent couple of weeks for the Republic Of Ireland football team with both Declan Rice and Harry Arter contemplating their international futures.

The English-born pair have both been excluded from the squad for the upcoming matches against Wales and Poland, with Rice taking a break to decide whether his career lies with Ireland or England.

Arter, meanwhile, does not have that luxury as he has already played competitively for the Republic. However, manager Martin O'Neill said today that the Cardiff City midfielder has decided to take an extended break from wearing green in order to concentrate on his club.

In recent days, rumours began swirling that Arter was going to leave the Irish set-up due to an altercation with assistant manager Roy Keane, a theory which O'Neill did not deny at today's press conference. RTÉ reports that when questioned if an argument with Keane may have led to Arter's exclusion, O'Neill said "it may have been a reason, I won't deny that."

MON (Argument with Roy) may have been a reason, I won't deny that.
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) September 3, 2018

O'Neill went on to add that he himself has been involved in altercations with players throughout his tenure...

MON: I've been involved five years here and I've had one or two altercations with players...[but] I've succeeded to create a vibrant group.
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) September 3, 2018

With two important players now deciding that they may be better off not representing Ireland, it seems like there is a lot more to this story.

Martin O'Neill's men open their UEFA Nations League campaign against Wales on Thursday night.