IRELAND legend Tony Cascarino has revealed how Jack Charlton once told Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti to “f* off” while the team were warming up during Italia ’90.
The Boys in Green icon lined out at a special Irish Sun event on Tuesday night to preview the weekend’s crunch Ireland v England Nations League clash.
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The former international striker headed a top panel featuring former Ireland player Andy Reid and ex-England ace Stuart Pearce.
The trio were joined at The Irish Sun’s Goals Live event by our Chief Sports Writer Neil O’Riordan and commentator Dave McIntyre at The Camden sports bar in Dublin.
Our lively preview event came ahead of the eagerly-anticipated Nations League clash between Ireland and England at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, which kicks off at 5pm on Saturday.
And Cascarino scored the biggest laugh of the night recalling the heady days of Italia ’90 when Ireland qualified for their first World Cup.
Gaffer Charlton famously led the Boys in Green to the quarter-finals — sparking jubilation across Ireland.
But Cascarino told how Pavarotti hit the wrong note with Big Jack as the opera icon caused a commotion outside the Irish dressing room at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico ahead of the quarter final kick-off against host nation Italy.
Lifting the lid on his memories of the World Cup, the 62-year-old said: “I immediately think of the way Jack was in ’90.
“And there was one episode when we were playing Italy in the quarter finals and it was before the game kicked off, he was doing the team talk.
“And he is doing tactics and there is commotion outside the door, outside the dressing room.
“And Jack says to the assistant, Maurice Setters, ‘Can you have a word, I’m doing the team talk’. “Maurice goes out, comes back in and says, ‘It is OK, OK’.”
Cascarino recalled how Setters whispered to some of the panel that Pavarotti was outside talking to Italian forward Gianluca Vialli.
But match-focused Charlton ploughed on none the wiser with his team talk.
Cascarino said: “Jack [continues] his team talk and all of a sudden, Jack goes, ‘The noise has fing started again’. And he rushed out, to outside the dressing room.”
Once outside the changing room, furious Jack proceeded to give Pavarotti a foul-mouthed blast.
However, Cas revealed he only learned what happened outside the dressing room years later while bumping into former Chelsea player Vialli at Stamford Bridge.
He said: “Years later, no one knew what happened when Jack went out [of the dressing room]. “And I was at Stamford Bridge and Gianluca Vialli is there. And he’s gone, ‘Jackie Charlton, your manager!’
“He said everyone who meets Pavarotti gets emotional, wants to give him a cuddle. He said Jackie Charlton told him to f off.”
Pavarotti began a long love affair with the World Cup, with his version of Nessun Dorma used as the theme for coverage of Italia ’90.
The Modena man also delivered an incredible performance alongside Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo as The Three Tenors at the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome during the 1990 World Cup.
BITTER RIVALS
Along the way to facing the host nation in the last eight, Ireland had faced neighbours and bitter rivals England in the group stage.
It was the Boys in Green’s first ever game at a World Cup — and the squad came away with a 1-1 draw after Kevin Sheedy cancelled out an early Gary Lineker opener.
Bobby Robson’s men boasted superstar names on their team sheet, including Paul Gascoigne.
However, the former Tottenham Hotspur man’s teammates feared the ace would be sent home early following a bizarre incident at a pre-tournament training camp.
Pearce, who played for England at Italia ’90 and was a co-panellist of Cascarino’s at The Irish Sun event on Tuesday night, opened up on the Gazza story.
He said: “[Robson] sat us down that first night and said, ‘Listen, to win a World Cup, you need to win seven games.
“You need to conserve energy. It is vitally important, you need to conserve energy.’
“The next day, after training, I was sat on a sunbed under shade. Every word he said, I soaked it in and put it into practice.
“I heard a big commotion to the left hand side. On the diving board was Gascoigne.
“He had mummified himself, from head to toe, in bog roll so you couldn’t see it was him. He has launched himself into the water.
“The bog roll floated to the top. Gazza has jumped out naked. In those days, it wasn’t just teams in hotels.
“There was like a group of American tourists sat there. ‘That’s Paul Gascoigne!’.
“That night, Bobby Robson walks in. ‘Nobody leave this room until I have spoken.’ I thought, ‘S, he’s going to send him home’.
“He handled it brilliantly. We finish our meal and we are all sat there thinking, ‘Don’t send him home’.
“He’s just looked into the room, he didn’t catch anybody’s eyes, and went, ‘Gentlemen, there is an idiot amongst us’. You know what? Gazza’s the only one who’s looked around to see who.”
IRELAND V THREE LIONS
Ireland’s game against the Three Lions at Italia ’90 has since become infamous — including for reasons English forward Lineker is sure to want to forget.
Recalling the match, Pearce, 62, said: “It was two teams basically trying to kick lumps out of each other and succeeding. It was just an awful game of football. The only thing it is remembered for is Gary Lineker actually s himself.
“He was rubbing his bum on the pitch trying to get rid of it.
“He pooped himself during the game and it is probably the only thing the game is remembered for.”
Cascarino confessed to not being aware of the England talisman’s mid-match accident, owing to him being at the other end of the pitch.
To which Pearce quipped: “You should have smelt it.”
After the feisty 1-1 draw against England, Ireland drew 0-0 with Egypt and 1-1 with the Netherlands to progress to the last 16.
ROMANIA CLASH
Their clash with Romania went all the way to a penalty shoot-out, which became the stuff of legend after David O’Leary scored the winning spot kick for the Boys in Green as a nation held its breath.
Cascarino was among those who stepped up to take a penalty — much to the surprise of some of his teammates.
He told our event: “There was only three that would put their hands up to take a penalty against Romania.
“I am sitting in the centre circle and Ray Houghton’s said, ‘Are you going to take a fing penalty?’
“And Andy Townsend’s said, ‘Are you a man or a mouse?’ Ray went, ‘Pass the cheese’, to me.”
But Tony assuaged those doubts by slamming his shot into the back of the net.
Cascarino added: “Jack had said to me, prior to that penalty against Romania, ‘Don’t you try and be clever. You just hit it low as hard as you can.’
“Jack wanted you to hit it hard. Even if you missed, as long as you’ve done what Jack told you to do, you are halfway there.”
Italia ’90 was Cascarino and Ireland’s second major tournament, after the 1988 European Championships.
‘I SCORED’
Cas had been drafted into that panel by Big Jack as recognition for his form for Millwall — even if the manager took some convincing.
He said: “I had played under Eoin Hand and then I got injured and I was out 18 months with a knee issue. I was playing for Millwall and we won 2-1.
“I played alright and I scored. As I was walking towards the dressing room, Big Jack was there.
“He said, ‘Do you want to play for Ireland again, Cassa?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I would love to, Jack.’
“And he said, ‘I watched you at Gillingham, I thought you were fg s***.’
“Three months later I was playing against Poland and scored at Lansdowne Road, which is now the Aviva, and I got into that squad at ’88.”
At Euro ’88, Ireland famously beat England 1-0 in Stuttgart thanks to a Ray Houghton goal.
They drew 1-1 with the Soviet Union before losing 1-0 to the Netherlands as they exited at the group stage.
Cascarino added: “We had a really good side. Loads of really top players and a great atmosphere.
“The England game was a bigger result because it was England, but I still remember the Dutch game. Just the support of either team. That was just incredible.”
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