Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has said the club should be 'pretty ashamed' of their decision to withdraw from the FA Cup in 2000. The controversial move was made to allow United to compete in the inaugural World Team Championship, now known as the Club World Cup, a tournament the FA believed would aid England's 2006 World Cup bid.
United were the reigning FA Cup winners at the time and became the first and only holders not to defend their title. Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Keane, a four-time FA Cup winner, said: 'When you think of it when we were at United, we should be pretty ashamed because we pulled out of the FA Cup. I know it wasn’t down to us but we accepted it as players. How mad was that, your team pulling out of the FA Cup?'
The decision, made under Sir Alex Ferguson's management, attracted widespread criticism from fans and media for devaluing the competition. Former chairman Martin Edwards defended the move at the time, stating the club had 'no alternative' and acted 'in the national interest'. Ferguson later admitted he regretted the circumstances, calling it 'a disaster' and noting the team received 'nothing but stick' as a result.
United's participation in the eight-team tournament in Brazil ended in disappointment, with the side winning just one of three group stage matches and finishing third in Group B behind Necaxa and eventual runners-up Vasco da Gama. The FA Cup that year was won by Chelsea, who beat Aston Villa in the final.
Keane's former teammate Gary Neville also reflected on the episode, lamenting the decline of the FA Cup's status but noting its recent resurgence. United have since won the FA Cup twice after Ferguson's retirement, in 2016 under Louis van Gaal and 2024 under Erik ten Hag. The current team, managed by Ruben Amorim, will learn their first-round opponents in the draw on Monday.
